A great debate in all storytelling is where should your story start?

There is no right way because every story is different and has different needs.

But one of the most popular solutions is to start your story with an action scene! 

So let’s discuss the different types of action, the pros, and the cons.

One of the things that comes up regularly in craft advice is the idea of a “theme” in your story.

Now, I have to admit, it hasn’t ever been something I’ve focused on, or given as a tool recommendation to my authors. To me, the idea of a story theme in fiction had always felt a bit… ridiculous. Something for classic or literary literature, trying to teach me a lesson. Not something that has a place in my fun book about elves, love, or spaceships.

But I’m here to revise that opinion and tell you why it might not only strengthen your story, but also help you on your writing journey, to isolate what the “theme” of your book is, no matter what genre you write.

Most of your goals are most likely about writing or finishing a book. Which is an amazing goal. And a big goal. But it can be daunting, especially once the newness of the goal or the book idea wears off.

So the biggest thing you want to keep in mind is why you want to do it. What is driving you to write a book? Why that story?

Last week, we talked about reading comparable titles – what that means and why.

But something that doesn’t get talked about much, but is arguably almost as vital, is reading outside your genre.

I know what you’re thinking – Susan, you just went on a rant last week about how important it is to read in my genre, read comps, and learn from them. And now you’re telling me to do the opposite?

Yes, yes, I am. Book research, market research, like everything in writing and publishing, is about balance.

It is key to know what is going on in your genre. No question.

But if you stop there, you’re going to have tunnel vision—only seeing what is right in front of you. And that can hurt your career almost as much as not knowing your comparable titles.

So let’s talk about how reading a wide variety can make you an even better genre author (whatever genre that may be).

Reading comparable titles is a core piece of advice given to authors at almost any stage in the publishing process – whether it is about writing, querying, marketing, selling, etc. 

Almost always one of the steps is to read and be familiar with your comparable titles.

But rarely do we talk about what that means or actually explain how to read comparable titles – how to read books as an author instead of as a reader.

So this week we’re going to dive into how to evaluate comps and read like an author!

Can you believe it is already April?! 

Whether you are knee deep in the April Nanowrimo right now, or just trying to make it until summer comes, it is always a great idea to take a moment to review your goals from the beginning of the year and adjust as needed to make sure you are continuing (or resetting) to have a strong rest of 2023!

Staying focused in Q2 is one of my biggest struggles, so let’s dive into what I do for a Q1 review and Q2 Renew.

Showing versus telling is a huge discussion topic in the writing craft community.

And rightfully so. It is an integral part of getting your book to connect with your readers, getting them to feel what you want them to feel, and understand what you need them to understand. 

And it is something that authors struggle with no matter where they are at in their career – new or 50 books in.

So let’s talk about what those terms mean, as well as how to show AND how to tell – because both are vital to the balance of a story – and go through some examples to demonstrate the difference, so when you get the inevitable “show don’t tell!” feedback in your edit, you’ll know exactly what to do next. 

Head hopping is when you are writing a chapter in one point of view but slip into the thoughts, emotions, or views of another. This can be jarring to readers as well as cause confusion in your storyline. 

It can happen in any manuscript, but you’ll see this especially in third person limited, so for those of you thinking of writing in that POV, I highly encourage you to keep this in mind.

Dialogue is an ongoing conversation (Ba-dum-dum) between authors and editors because it is one of the trickiest aspects of writing.

These are my top 10 rules for writing great dialogue – the code I live by when I do my editing, when talking with my authors, and even on the odd occasion I find myself needing to write dialogue.