Barbara Hinske thought she was done. She just needed a copy edit, she figured. In her search for a copy editor, her manuscript fell into my hands. I was quickly drawn to a minor, undeveloped character in the novel—a bad guy with a penchant for rescuing dogs. Weaving in a subplot geared around this multi-faceted… Continue Reading
Are you more comfortable coming up with your character or your plot when you’re thinking about writing a novel? I’m betting that one is more natural than the other. But a novel absolutely, positively needs to be strong in both character and plot. A character-heavy story in which nothing really happens is a snooze, and… Continue Reading
If you’re writing fiction, you need to make sure that your work is populated by multi-dimensional characters who seem like real people. So ask yourself: Are the characters I’ve invented believable? Have I fleshed them out? Do they have the kinds of inconsistencies, conflicts, baggage, strong points and flaws we all have? Do I know… Continue Reading
How’s that focus on writing coming? And how’s that working for you? Here’s the deal. You’ve suddenly got time to write. It didn’t come exactly how you envisioned. You didn’t win the lottery. No one announced that they would fund your endeavors because the world needed your talent. Nope. You simply got a cease-and-desist notice… Continue Reading
“Show don’t tell” rolls off the tongue so easily. Showing what happens in your book rather than talking about it, however, just isn’t as simple as it sounds. It takes a while to make the shift and start experiencing your book in a way that allows you to share those visceral experiences with your readers.… Continue Reading
Tracia Larimer isn’t your ordinary mortgage broker. So when this creative, never-take-no-for-an-answer broker wanted to spread the word about her business, she decided to write a slim book that would answer a lot of her clients’ questions and help guide them through the mortgage application process. Not surprisingly, her title is as unique as she… Continue Reading
As a youngster, my lovely English Cocker Hoover loved to play fetch. Without waiting to see which way you were going to throw the ball, he would launch himself in whatever direction made sense to him and run as fast as he could. When he’d gone what he deemed to be the appropriate distance, he’d… Continue Reading
I’ve dreamed of launching an online version of a game called Pass the Story for years. What better time than now, when we’re stuck at home and in need of serious distraction? For those of you who may have forgotten, Pass the Story involves having one person start a story and pass the baton to the… Continue Reading
Most writers know that their back cover blurb needs to convince readers to buy the book. As a result, a lot of blurbs focus on why the book is so great instead of addressing why the reader might be interested in the topic. You can see the exact same mistake on website after website. The… Continue Reading
“Oh, how I dislike writing blurbs,” my writing coach client Morri Stewart exclaimed the other day as she struggled with what she called Take Two of her back cover blurb, which was probably Take Five once all the other attempts had been factored in. Hard to blame her. The only thing more challenging than writing… Continue Reading
Literary Agent:
Ted Weinstein
Ted Weinstein Literary Management
Mechanics’ Library Building
57 Post Street, Suite 512
San Francisco, CA 94104
tw@twliterary.com
www.twliterary.com