2025 on Tumblr: Trends That Defined the Year
Love Begins
Product Placement
Xuebing Du
Show & Tell
Lint Roller? I Barely Know Her
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Origami Around
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blake kathryn
hello vonnie
titsay
if i look back, i am lost
occasionally subtle
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Kiana Khansmith
DEAR READER
Kaledo Art
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seen from Italy
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seen from Taiwan
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seen from Nepal
seen from Mexico
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@merrybond
Tech: StoryLine Obsidian Plug-in Review
I am always looking for easier ways to organize the writing of my books. I’ve used everything from Scrivener to physical index cards. Recently, I came across a plug-in for Obsidian that looks like it might be promising (no guarantees yet). It’s called StoryLine. I’m still getting to know this software, but it is definitely the most complete novel-writing plug-in for Obsidian I’ve found. A lot of…
Five Things You Need at the End of Your Novel
First, my apologies for not posting last week. We had a pet illness that, sadly, led to the passing of the kitty. I was in no fit state to write anything for a few days. Now, on to what I’ve been up to this week! I was recently reminded of two very important things authors need to have in their books: an up-to-date list of other books and a reader magnet to entice readers to sign up for your…
Craft: Creating Realistic Characters
There is nothing that makes a reader put down a book faster than boring characters. Even if your plot is fascinating and action-packed, if the reader doesn’t care about the characters, why should they read on? I know there is a lot written on how to write characters in depth, 3-D — whatever you want to call it—but I figured it couldn’t hurt to discuss it again (especially since I just finished…
Tech: Lacuna New Formatting Software Review
There’s new formatting software in town! I’m a formatter. I have been since 2011 when I learned html so that I could format my own books, and those of other authors, into an ebook. Since then there have been so many innovations, new ways to format your book. There is now everything from Jutoh (highly adaptive and filled with incredible features and loads of ways to personalize your book) to…
Publishing: Building Your Team
Are you thinking about self-publishing your work? If yes, then the very first thing you need to know is that the term “self-publishing” is not actually what people do. No one can do everything necessary to publish a book. It takes a team to “self-publish.” Here are all the people you will need on your team: A Developmental Editor/Coach: Especially if you’re new to writing, a book coach or…
Book Review: Author Stuck List
The Author Stuck List by Becca Syme is Syme’s Author Stuck Cards in book form. The book (and cards) are for any author who is having problems progressing with the writing of their book. As a writing coach, I’ve seen and spoken with a good number of authors who are having trouble writing. It’s a common problem that can be anything from complete avoidance of their writing—not wanting to even think…
Craft: Adding Jargon to Your Novel
A brief word about this blog first: The absolutely hardest thing about writing a weekly blog post is coming up with topics to write about. Since I’ve been publishing this blog for fifteen years now (!!!), I feel as if I’ve covered everything and sometimes many times over. Still, every week I sit and stare at a blank page in Microsoft Word and try to think of what to write! My ideas most…
Ten Ways to Give Your Character Their Voice
Writing distinct character voices might be one of the most difficult parts of writing fiction. It is one thing to write great, believable dialogue that moves your story forward, but then to imbue those words with the individual voice of the character who speaks takes your writing to the next level. There are a lot of ways you can distinguish one character’s voice from another. Here are…
Five Reasons You Need a Human Editor
AI is everywhere and you might be using it without even knowing you’re doing so. How? By using the common editing apps Grammarly and ProWriting Aid. They are both now powered by AI. So, what’s the best way to avoid using any AI in the writing of your novel? Use a human editor. Here are five reasons why: Voice: an author’s voice sometimes doesn’t follow the rules of grammar. And sometimes even…
Non-Linear Storytelling--Should You Attempt It?
A client of mind recently sent me a novella. It started out with “four years ago.” Okay. I can deal with a little backstory to begin with. The next chapter was “one year ago.” Cool, we’re coming up on present day. A little slowly, but we’re good. Next chapter “present day.” Okay! Here we go with the real story. It took two chapters of a novella, but that’s okay. But then the chapter after that…
Obsidian for Authors
Last week I talked about some of the tools in my writer’s toolbox. This week, I want to get into some detail about how I use Obsidian. If you don’t know, Obsidian is an app that resides on your computer where you can create pages and take notes on anything. Not only is the app on your computer, but so are all the files you keep there. This makes it so privacy is not a concern and, even if you are…
Using all the tools in my writer's toolbox
I have a lot of tools in my writer’s toolbox and I use each and every one despite the fact that many overlap in their abilities. Is that nuts? Weird? Inefficient? Maybe, but it works for me. Before I even begin to write a book, I create characters and plot the book on paper with worksheets I created (you can get them on Etsy). Once I’m done this, I move to my computer and move to Obsidian. There…
Writing When You're Too Busy to Write
I’ve got a coaching client who hasn’t sent me anything to read in advance of our weekly coaching sessions for a month. We’ve been working together for years and he’s nearly always sent me at least a chapter to read. This past month? Nothing. He’s way too busy at work. When we get on our call, he tells me he’s thrilled to have gotten three hours of sleep the night before because he was working.…
Update: Atticus Reviewed
Three years ago I reviewed the–then–new writing/formatting software Atticus. It was created by Dave Chesson of Kindlepreneur in 2021 (I reviewed it in 2022). At that time it was a pretty new concept: software that can be accessed anywhere, because it lives online, which can be used to both write and format your novel. Incredibly, it’s still just about the only kid on that block (the only other…
Ten Tips to Write Dialogue Right
I’ve been reading a sad amount of iffy dialogue recently from overuse of names to unnatural sounding speech to wrong punctuation. So, I decided now would be a great time to do a quick reminder of how to do dialogue right. And we all love “listacles” so here is one for you: 1. Give each character their own voice. Sometimes that’s easier said than done. Not only is it tricky to change voices in…
How Many Plots Make a Story?
How many times have you sat down at your desk at work and did one thing without interruption until it was finished? My bet is that the answer is almost never. Things happen: an email comes in that must be responded to immediately, your boss demands that you finish another task before you complete the one you’re working on, as your working you realize that you need to do this other thing first in…
The Goldilocks Novel Length
How long should your book be? Do you worry about this? I know authors have enough to think about when they’re writing a novel—character arcs, plot arcs, conflict, and that timeline—but should they also worry about the length of the book? Some people say no. A book should be as long as it takes to tell the story. Stephen King famously said that he just keeps writing until the story is done. And…