Before You Hit Send On Your Manuscript

Nothing is more exciting and unnerving than finishing edits and getting ready to send in a manuscript to an agent or editor. Even if you and your critique partners have gone over your pages several times, doubts still nag. Did I catch every misspelled word and homonym? When I made my last edits did I [...]

ABCs of the Content Edit

Every step of my journey to publication has been a huge learning experience for me. The revision letter was no different. The content edits for Canyon Walls were pretty extensive. At first, I was disappointed, but now, I realize that it is just another step in making me a better writer. Here are a few of [...]

Writing Big and Trimming the Fat

Tuesday Teachings from the archives: I’ve been going back through the wonderful content on Writer…Interrupted and wanted to share the relevant teaching from past posts! Hope you enjoy this new Tuesday feature!- Gina When I first began writing fiction, I was taught by one of my brilliant teachers to write BIG. (Which actually means big in [...]

A few last tips for cutting a synopsis

Tip#8 to cut a synopsis—cut modifiers Adjectives and adverbs are usually the easiest to cull from a synopsis. Sometimes you don’t even need to change the noun or verb. Other times, a stronger noun or verb is needed. She determines to win without interference from her meddling friends. vs. She determines to win without interference [...]

Writing Your Novel Idea

Tuesday Teachings from the archives: I’ve been going back through the wonderful content on Writer…Interrupted and wanted to share the relevant teaching from past posts! Hope you enjoy this new Tuesday feature! This month’s feature: From Idea to The End I wrote fiction unsuccessfully for many years. What boosted me to publication was a class [...]

Writing is Editing

Writing is editing. You accept that. But do you love it? Well, do you? You’re staring. Am I serious? Love editing? How can I love that?  If you want to continue as an author, it’s time you learned. It surprises me how many people only think of editing as a career. Editing isn’t merely grammar and [...]

How to Write a Hallelujah Chorus-Worthy First Chapter

“Without a great first chapter your reader will never move onto to chapter two.” That reality is beat into us at writer conferences, on blogs, and in writing email loops. But before a reader can love your first chapter, you need to believe in your first chapter and love it. But, let’s face it. How [...]

How to Cut the Fat Out of Your WIP

When I contracted my novella in January and had to cut 30,000 words off my WIP, I knew it was going to be hard. In fact, I almost bailed on submitting the anthology to Barbour because I knew that would mean cutting more than half of my story. The pain of deleting my brilliant prose [...]

What Makes a Good Critique Group?

What makes a book “good?” The experience it offers, of course, and how well it meets our expectations. Like everything else. It’s subjective, and like a book, a good critique group depends on the people in them. What you get out of it is largely dependent on what you bring to it. One essential benefit is encouragement [...]

Top Ten Mistakes in Manuscripts

10) Inadequate use of point of view. I’m not talking about head-hopping. I’m talking about a very distant use of point of view that doesn’t get the reader into the character’s head or feeling the character’s emotions. For a first chapter, especially, this is crucial. If the reader isn’t immediately sucked into the character’s mind [...]

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