There comes a point in revision when it can get really hard to see your own book clearly. Maybe half of the manuscript feels solid and the other half is […]
Why Character Likability Is the Wrong Question
When I was writing my first novel, I worried for months that my protagonist wasn’t likable enough. She was prickly. She made the same bad choice over and over. She […]
Titling Your Book When Nothing Feels Right
Finding the right book title can feel strangely difficult, especially when you’ve lived with the manuscript for so long. My favorite strategy is to go looking for the title inside […]
How to Write Diverse Ensemble Casts Without Falling Into Stereotypes
Writing one character deeply is hard. Writing four, five, or ten characters deeply in the same book is a whole different challenge. When you’re writing characters from different racial, cultural, […]
Writing a Sequel and Pitching a Series
The moment a story grows past the borders of a single book, a whole new set of worries arrives. How much of the first book do you carry into the […]
How to Describe What Your Characters Are Wearing
I don’t usually spend a lot of time describing what my characters are wearing. Most of the time, I trust readers to fill in those blanks for themselves. But sometimes […]
When Your Manuscript Is Ready to Query
There is a particular kind of paralysis that hits writers at the threshold of querying. You have the manuscript. You have the agent list. And somewhere on your desk sits […]