So recently I went back and looked at an older draft of Cambiare out of sheer curiosity. I wanted to see how far I'd come in the past couple of years and umpteen drafts. And I noticed some patterns. Writing tics that I've also noticed in beta reads, but common mistakes I also made. Here's …
Continue reading 5 Common Mistakes Made By Beginning Writers
So after last week’s blog post, I realized there were a few points left untouched. So without further ado, here are a few more things I wish I'd been told before I started writing with the serious intent of publication. 1. You won't be able to read for pleasure as often. How many books did …
If you plan to publish your book, beta readers and critique partners (CPs) are essential to putting out your best possible work. (For more on how these people can help you out, check out last week's post on the 5 Things Betas & CPs Can Do That You Can't.) First, a quick rundown of the …
Continue reading 5 Places to Find Betas and Critique Partners
If you've written a book, you may be reluctant to hand your baby to other people. What if they tear it apart? What if they don't like it? It's terrifying. But if you intend to publish, letting other people read your book beforehand is an absolute necessity. Better to hear criticism when the problems can …
Continue reading 5 Things Betas and CPs Can Do That You Can’t
There's a growing trend in Young Adult books, and it has to stop. I'm not the first to notice or call this out, but an awful lot of "young adult" books--particularly in genre fiction like fantasy--feature "teen" characters that think and act more like 30-year-olds. Or they contain content that can be inappropriate for the …
Continue reading 5 Reasons non-YA is getting published as YA
After the last Friday 5 post, I’d like to switch things up by swapping out the negativity for some positives. I’ve made a lot of mistakes, but I’ve also made a few decisions that completely changed my writing life for the better. 1. Participating in NaNoWriMo. For those who aren’t familiar, NaNoWriMo is National Novel …
Continue reading The 5 Best Decisions I’ve Made On My Writing Journey
We all make mistakes. And learning from the errors of others can certainly be much easier than experiencing the sting of your own. In that spirit, here are a few of my most cringe-worthy choices in my writing journey, and what I learned from each one. 1. Editing before revising. So your manuscript is complete! …
Continue reading The 5 Worst Mistakes I’ve Made On My Writing Journey
In my blog post “Writing with Bipolar II”, I detailed a little bit about my own struggles with mental health. I also mentioned that I accidentally gave one of my main characters the same form of bipolar that I have. Bipolar has a lot of symptoms, and not all of them are well-known. In this …
We all have those crutches and quirks that weaken our writing, and I am no exception. As it's generally good advice to be aware of your own weaknesses, I'm pointing out mine.I don’t even worry about these vices during the drafting phase, but I’ve learned to have a keen eye for them in revision. 1. …
Your first draft is done! It’s time to do some self-editing and then send out queries or self-publish, right? Nope. Five types of people can help you with your manuscript before it gets into the hands of the reading public. Some of these are optional, but others are mandatory if you want to put out …
Amy Avery / Avery Ames 