writing tips Archives - Women Writers, Women's Books https://booksbywomen.org/tag/writing-tips/ Wed, 25 Apr 2018 19:53:53 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.3 39938774 Why Write? https://booksbywomen.org/why-write-by-erica-brown/ https://booksbywomen.org/why-write-by-erica-brown/#respond Mon, 23 Apr 2018 10:18:59 +0000 http://booksbywomen.org/?p=22414 Like J K Rowling, the big impetus to me getting my first book written – and then published – was poverty. No money, no job on the horizon and a mountain of bills. To put it poetically – or as a story teller would – it was like being a donkey beaten with a big […]

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]]> https://booksbywomen.org/why-write-by-erica-brown/feed/ 0 22414 The Great Eight – Writing Tips https://booksbywomen.org/the-great-eight-writing-tips-by-jo-jakeman/ https://booksbywomen.org/the-great-eight-writing-tips-by-jo-jakeman/#comments Thu, 12 Apr 2018 05:04:15 +0000 http://booksbywomen.org/?p=21931 As Somerset Maugham said, ‘There are three rules for the writing of a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.’ While we’re waiting for someone to discover those golden rules, here are eight tips I’ve learned while sweating over my writing for the past ten years. 1. READ – Keep a note of the […]

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]]> https://booksbywomen.org/the-great-eight-writing-tips-by-jo-jakeman/feed/ 2 21931 The Professional Writer https://booksbywomen.org/the-professional-writer-by-jennifer-probst/ https://booksbywomen.org/the-professional-writer-by-jennifer-probst/#comments Sat, 31 Mar 2018 09:59:39 +0000 http://booksbywomen.org/?p=22334 In his groundbreaking book, Outliers, Malcom Gladwell wrote about the power of practicing 10,000 hours in order to reach a higher level of proficiency and greatness in one’s profession or hobby. When I read his theory, I remember feeling as if that was one of the fairest statements ever made. In a lottery world revolving […]

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]]> https://booksbywomen.org/the-professional-writer-by-jennifer-probst/feed/ 4 22334 A Former Lawyer’s Take On the Craft of Writing https://booksbywomen.org/a-former-lawyers-take-on-the-craft-of-writing-by-caroline-england/ https://booksbywomen.org/a-former-lawyers-take-on-the-craft-of-writing-by-caroline-england/#respond Fri, 19 Jan 2018 10:54:10 +0000 http://booksbywomen.org/?p=21560 I’m a former divorce lawyer who gave up the law to become a stay-at-home mum. I haven’t been on a creative writing course or studied language or literature at any level higher than school. I haven’t even opened a book on the subject! So I’m no expert on the ‘official’ rules of writing. But I […]

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]]> https://booksbywomen.org/a-former-lawyers-take-on-the-craft-of-writing-by-caroline-england/feed/ 0 21560 Combining First Person Narration with Viewpoint Characters: Why? How? Where? https://booksbywomen.org/combining-first-person-narration-with-viewpoint-characters-why-how-where-by-bonnie-burstow/ https://booksbywomen.org/combining-first-person-narration-with-viewpoint-characters-why-how-where-by-bonnie-burstow/#comments Sat, 25 Nov 2017 07:54:48 +0000 http://booksbywomen.org/?p=20789   While once upon a time the use of the first person narrator in fiction was seen as “barbaric”, that time is long past. It is now a popular narrator voice, and it fits well with the feminist opposition to so called “objective” knowledge—something embodied in omniscient third person narrator. Moreover, we are all keenly […]

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]]> https://booksbywomen.org/combining-first-person-narration-with-viewpoint-characters-why-how-where-by-bonnie-burstow/feed/ 3 20789 Why Writers Feel Guilty and How to Overcome It https://booksbywomen.org/why-writers-feel-guilty-and-how-to-overcome-it-by-colleen-story/ https://booksbywomen.org/why-writers-feel-guilty-and-how-to-overcome-it-by-colleen-story/#comments Thu, 26 Oct 2017 07:42:27 +0000 http://booksbywomen.org/?p=20565 Why should we feel guilty for taking time to write? After all, it’s a passion for many of us, and for some, a way to make a living. We don’t feel like things are “right” in our worlds if we’re not writing, so why on Earth would we ever feel guilty for doing something that’s […]

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]]> https://booksbywomen.org/why-writers-feel-guilty-and-how-to-overcome-it-by-colleen-story/feed/ 1 20565 Five Ways to Increase Micro-Tension https://booksbywomen.org/five-ways-to-increase-micro-tension-by-heather-adams/ https://booksbywomen.org/five-ways-to-increase-micro-tension-by-heather-adams/#comments Thu, 12 Oct 2017 05:00:31 +0000 http://booksbywomen.org/?p=20452 How do we keep readers invested in what will happen next? As writers, we want readers on the edge of their seat, even in scenes that don’t justify heart-pounding action. Micro-tension, a term I first encountered in Donald Maass’ The Fire in Fiction, offers a solution. Recently I’ve been working on micro-tension in my own […]

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]]> https://booksbywomen.org/five-ways-to-increase-micro-tension-by-heather-adams/feed/ 1 20452 Sounds: Bringing Back the Often-Forgotten Sense https://booksbywomen.org/sounds-bringing-back-the-often-forgotten-sense-by-annette-lyon/ https://booksbywomen.org/sounds-bringing-back-the-often-forgotten-sense-by-annette-lyon/#comments Tue, 12 Sep 2017 12:11:46 +0000 http://booksbywomen.org/?p=20363 Arguably, the most common advice to new writers may be “show, don’t tell,” and “use sensory details.” Most of us do well using the sense of sight—after all, we must describe what’s going on for the story to make sense. When we’re trying, we may add a taste a smell, but all too often, the […]

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]]> https://booksbywomen.org/sounds-bringing-back-the-often-forgotten-sense-by-annette-lyon/feed/ 1 20363 Getting Past the Opening: Where to Start your Novel https://booksbywomen.org/getting-past-the-opening-where-to-start-your-novel-by-linda-k-sienkiewicz/ https://booksbywomen.org/getting-past-the-opening-where-to-start-your-novel-by-linda-k-sienkiewicz/#comments Thu, 11 May 2017 20:05:56 +0000 http://booksbywomen.org/?p=18993 We sit in front of the keyboard, poised, with an idea for a book spinning in our head, and find ourselves afraid to start. After all, we are aware we have one paragraph, or three at best, to capture the attention of the reader. What do we do? My friend and mentor, Elizabeth Searle, offered […]

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]]> https://booksbywomen.org/getting-past-the-opening-where-to-start-your-novel-by-linda-k-sienkiewicz/feed/ 1 18993 5 Tips to Turn Ordinary Interactions into Book Sales https://booksbywomen.org/5-tips-to-turn-ordinary-interactions-into-book-sales-leah-de-cesare/ https://booksbywomen.org/5-tips-to-turn-ordinary-interactions-into-book-sales-leah-de-cesare/#comments Tue, 09 May 2017 06:50:34 +0000 http://booksbywomen.org/?p=19060 In the course of a day, even introverted writers (which I must admit, I’m not) have the opportunity to turn everyday interactions into book buzz. This week alone, I was talking to the Macy’s clerk and as she hung the cute new dress I was buying, I mentioned that I had a book coming out […]

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