I am spending some time this month reading the award-winning and nominated science fiction and fantasy short stories (Hugo Awards, Nebula Awards, Locus Awards). I look at is as research for writing my own short stories in those genres. I realize as I read these stories that one of the things that makes them so…
My Fiction Journey
From beginner to bestseller, I'm sharing everything I'm learning on my journey writing fiction.
I'm learning a lot and other authors will, too.
Shawn Coyne’s Five Elements of a Story
Every writer should read Shawn Coyne’s The Story Grid. Of the many things I gained from the book, the one take-away that stands out a few years later is his five elements of a story. I have used these five elements to write articles, tell stories in keynote speeches, and plan out short stories. Once…
Will my book still sell a decade from now?
In Zero to One Peter Thiel asks a really valuable question for entrepreneurs to ask about their businesses: Will this business still be around a decade from now? The corollary question an author must ask is: Will this book still be in print a decade from now? Will this book still sell a decade from…
The Ten Person Test: How to Get Feedback on Your Book
The other day someone asked me how they could get published. That’s a big question! There are so many different ways to get published today. Further into the conversation she asked, “So, should I get an agent?” That’s getting ahead of herself. Before you get an agent or an editor, get feedback on your writing….
Narrow Your Niche, Narrow Your Competition
I have a goal to publish one work of fiction this year. I have barely written any fiction let alone published anything professionally. So, I’ve spent some time during the last few weeks researching the fiction landscape. As I’m doing the research, it is hard not to get discouraged. There are so many people already…
