A beginner’s guide to Twitter: 10 Tips

Posted on Jan 26, 2011 | 28 comments This is a post by Novel Publicity President, Emlyn Chand Ahh, Twitter—it’s a wonderful, powerful thing, which is immensely confusing when you first get started.  Every writer, rather published or not, should be on Twitter, and simply being present at this massive party is not enough, you need to be its star. At parties, are you more the lean against the wall and hope nobody notices you...
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Which is better, WordPress or BlogSpot? See how they stack up here

Posted on Jan 19, 2011 | 37 comments This is a post by Novel Publicity President, Emlyn Chand I’ve already told you how important it is for aspiring writers (and successful ones too) to build their online presence by keeping a blog.  I’ve even told you 11 ways to get the most out of your blog, thus maximizing your visibility.  What I have yet to tell you is how to blog. How to blog—that seems like a huge topic, right? ...
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The 7 virtues every writer needs to succeed

Posted on Jan 6, 2011 | 9 comments This is a post by Novel Publicity President, Emlyn Chand What makes a good writer?  Is it a talent for seamlessly styling prose?  A working knowledge of proper grammatical techniques?  The simple ability to write productively? Technical skills are important, it’s true, but much more important in defining a good writer is virtue.  It cannot be denied that there are a certain number of...
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11 ways to maximize your blog traffic in 2011

Posted on Jan 3, 2011 | 24 comments This is a post by Novel Publicity President, Emlyn Chand Blogging—the convention’s been around long enough that most of us are over how funny this quirky, little verb sounds. I’m sure you already know that a blog is; it’s an online journal in which people write and publish posts about their lives and hobbies and sometimes receive feedback from others. Knowing the definition of “blog”...
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10 steps for growing novel-sized story ideas

Posted on Dec 27, 2010 | 3 comments This is a post by Novel Publicity President, Emlyn Chand As part of your call to write, I have discussed reading about writing, reading with an eye toward writing, creating the right writing environment, selecting a point of view, developing relatable characters, and crafting authentic dialogue.  While all of this is nice and fine, you might think that I skipped one very important lesson...
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Help! How can I write authentic dialogue?

Posted on Dec 21, 2010 | 8 comments This is a post by Novel Publicity President, Emlyn Chand Last week, I discussed creating relatable characters in fiction. This week, I’d like to discuss another important element of writing — one that can be quite the challenge to master: crafting authentic dialogue. Observe the following sample passage of dialogue. I’ve done my best to demonstrate several common mistakes that new writers...
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How do you make fictional characters seem real to the reader?

Posted on Dec 21, 2010 | 7 comments This is a post by Novel Publicity President, Emlyn Chand Think about your favorite books. What really makes them come to life for you? What grabs you by the collar of your shirt and says, “Follow me into this world; I promise we’ll have a good time together?” Is it the exciting, tumultuous, where-will-we-go-next plot? Is it the immaculately described, feels-like-you-are-really-there...
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Which point-of-view should you use to tell your story?

Posted on Dec 21, 2010 | 13 comments This is a post by Novel Publicity President, Emlyn Chand The world is full of would-be writers. Research conducted by independent, Michigan-based publisher, Jenkins Group, projects that a full 80 percent of people living in the U.S. say they would like to write a book. Quite ironically, this is the same percentage of Americans who failed to either buy or read a book within a single calendar...
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6 things to consider when creating your writing environment

Posted on Dec 21, 2010 | 16 comments This is a post by Novel Publicity President, Emlyn Chand Some writers can make magic happen anywhere and under almost any condition. Others must meticulously set the perfect scene before they can produce even a single line of prose. With time, you will learn exactly what works for you and what doesn’t. Just remember, everyone is different, and your tastes and preferences are likely to change...
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How to read with a writer’s eye

Posted on Dec 21, 2010 | 5 comments This is a post by Novel Publicity President, Emlyn Chand This next suggested step for wannabe writers is, in some ways, the easiest to do. In other ways, it is the most difficult. You’ve been doing this, at least in part, pretty much your entire life. Now you’re going to do it with an eye toward discovering yourself as a writer and ensuring that this new self is as amazing as it can...
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Reading about writing: Some of the best reference guides

Posted on Dec 21, 2010 | 2 comments This is a post by Novel Publicity President, Emlyn Chand By blurring the lines between avid reading and productive writing, you’ll make the transition far easier. A great first step for pursuing the craft of writing is to study up — pick up a book and read about it. Of course, you’re not limited to just books. There are countless blogs on the topic (like this one), and monthly subscriptions...
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From reader to writer: The wordy transition

Posted on Dec 21, 2010 | 6 comments This is a post by Novel Publicity President, Emlyn Chand “Why are you wasting all of this time reading? You like books so much, why don’t you just write one of your own?” My husband has been asking me this question for years. I mostly met his suggestion with a stream of excuses: “It’s not that easy to write a book,” “Even if I did write a book, there’s no guarantee anyone would...
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