This writing exercise is meant to be used in conjunction with the 3-part All About Conflict series of article on the Castelane Author Resources. If you haven't read those articles, START HERE. Then come back here to give this writing prompt a try. Post your created scenes in the comment for a ch…
So far in this series, I’ve talked about the different levels of conflict (macro, mini, micro) and external vs internal conflict. If you missed those articles, you might want to START HERE.
Now, I’d like to address the last two layers of conflict, w…
Last time on the Castelane Author Resources blog, I talked about the different levels of conflict. If you missed that article, you might want to START HERE.
In Part 2 of the discussion on conflict, I want to look at External vs Internal conflict and how these relate to the different levels …
Without conflict, you have no story. Sound like a simple concept, right? But what exactly is conflict and where do you find it? Understanding that you need conflict is a far cry from figuring out how to create the conflict and sustain it across three-hundred-plus pages.
Part of the problem is t…
As a publishing coach, I spend a lot of time walking new authors through the series of steps required to get their book up for sale, so I know how overwhelming the process can be. One question that comes up every time is, “Should I choose KDP’s expanded distribution for my paperback or not?”
Today's author/reader question: How do you feel about characters that meet on page 1 and have sex by page 5?
I didn't pull this question out of the blue. I've been reading copious amounts of urban paranormal fantasies since this is what I like to write. Some are adventures with a touch of r…
Let’s call her Kate (secretly, my favorite name in high school). She’s fourteen years old, completely unaware of life barreling down on her. An idea pops her head. Where does it come from and why? Thankfully, she’s too green to question it. She decides to write a story about fox hunting.
Grab your readers with a video hook
I’m a sucker for videos of cute baby animals. Kittens, elephants, bears. Thankfully, the Internet is full of these and millions of other videos that help pass the time between waking up and when the caffeine kicks in. I must confess that I’m miserly with thi…
When I was fourteen, my descriptive paragraph of a drowning man won me a place at the school district’s yearly creative writing workshop. This workshop turned out to be a big deal for me, and not just because I got out of classes for a week, though that was a terrific bonus for a tenth-grader. This …
You might have noticed that Facebook groups are all abuzz about the new changes to the mysterious algorithm that Facebook uses to decide what content gets pushed out to your fans from your author page.
I say mysterious because FB doesn’t really want you to know all the details. That would…
Today, I took a trip from Londonium to Constantinopolis. I travelled by road, river and sea. It took me 50 days and cost 1505 denarii. And I did it all without leaving my desk thanks to ORBIS, The Stanford Geospatial Network Model of the Roman World.
Yes, I fell down a rabbit hole while doing res…
One of the main reasons I go to writing conventions is to talk to other writers about how they outline. I ask every presenter during panel discussions and bring up the subject of outlining during lunch and cocktails. Maybe I'm a bit obsessed. But I find the wildly different answers from writers both…
When I first decided to take writing from a hobby to a career, I quickly realized that the days of writing for my muse were gone. I no longer had the luxury of waiting for inspiration to hit. I had to write NOW! I had to write today, tomorrow and the next day. That was the only way to build my craft…
One of the bonus’s of being a subscriber to Kindle Unlimited is that I can read a huge number of books for free. This means that I don’t suffer through bad writing. If I don’t like something, I delete it unfinished, without remorse. Sometimes, I only get through a few pages before hitting the kill…
Niche markets are often overlooked in the grand marketing scheme. These little nuggets may seem to be more trouble than they’re worth. Isn’t it easier to target the big guys, make tons of sales with one swoop? The problem is that new authors are practically banned from the big-box book stores. You m…
There’s nothing quite as exciting for a new author as holding your first book in your hand. It’s a moment like no other.
And then the reality sets in.
How do I let people know about my book?
That’s a question I often hear when working with first-time authors. Book market…
Just because artwork is free on the internet, doesn’t mean it’s free to use in your commercial project. As a book cover designer and video producer, I often have authors send me images that they found through Google search, on Wikipedia or even images they shot themselves. I won’t use any of these w…
