Whether a romance author writes sweet, sexy or spicy, there are 10 mistakes with sexual content they can easily avoid:
Allowing the sexual tension to disappear between love scenes: Thread the tension throughout the book. It doesn’t have to vibrate on every page, but if you let it sag, then it’s going to create more work [...]
The quickest shortcut is recycling unsold manuscripts. However, not all manuscripts are suited for novella length. It works best if the hero and heroine are rarely apart in the original version of the story. When making the story novella-sized:
Decide the key scenes in the manuscript. Make sure that every previous scene is working towards the [...]
Novella collections, also known as single author anthologies, are especially popular in the trade size paperback. If you want to pitch a single-author anthology, keep the following in mind:
Think of the big picture. Consider the whole book as a smaller scaled trilogy. While each novella must have an intriguing plot and memorable characters, you are [...]
If you have an idea for a novella and are about to dive in, think about plotting out the story or at least the plot points. A novella offers no room to go on tangents. If you write intricate plots, do world building, or often go over your word count, you will definitely need to [...]
Every once in a while I get an e-mail from a writer asking about novellas. I guess it’s because I’ve published close to 20 novellas. I thought it might be helpful to post some common questions here, but I am the first to point out that what I say is based on my experience. Talk to authors [...]
When I attended a local writing group, I noticed a pattern with new members. They wanted to find a critique partner the moment they joined. I admire their courage and assertiveness—it’s hard to show your work to anyone! I understand the need to have someone other than a relative or friend read your work. You [...]
Picture it: a writer is telling me what story she’s working on. Within ten minutes I know every detail of the opening scene, but I still have no clue what the story is about. I stop the writer and ask her three questions I once heard Harlequin editor Wanda Ottewell use in a workshop:
What does [...]
One of the best writing tips I ever received was when Elizabeth Boyle gave a workshop at our local RWA chapter. She suggested writing the story from start to finish without going back to fix it. At the time I was spending way too much time perfecting my first three chapters. After listening to Elizabeth, [...]
I know someone who’s writing a steampunk story and she was struggling very early on. With her past projects, she usually knew the story, the characters, and how she was going to get to the resolution before she’d start writing. She’s at a loss this time, so I suggested she put together a collage.
The idea [...]
“I wish I had time to write a novel.”
I hear that statement quite a lot. Everyone wishes they had more time to go after their dream. It’s hard to carve out an hour here or there in your already busy schedule. I’m a firm believer of small steps, so if this is “The Year” you [...]
