Category: Uncategorized

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific is a compilation of all the writing links I shared the previous week.

The links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 17,000 free articles on writing-related topics. Sign up for our free newsletter for monthly writing tips and interviews with top contributors to the WKB or like us on Facebook.

Have a great week!

5 Tips on Writing Actions Scenes: Lessons from Chopsocky: http://bit.ly/QJl3Cn @JCMartin_author @AlexJCavanaugh

For literary inspiration follow @AdviceToWriters. Jon Winokur dispenses writerly wisdom of the ages.

A useful resource for describing settings, emotions, shapes, textures, and more: http://bit.ly/eIGRMO @AngelaAckerman

Writing—It Doesn’t Have To Be Solo (Or Done In Quiet Places): http://bit.ly/R4rvRM @JoanRylen

A free directory of #ebook pros–for covers, editing, formatting, & more: http://tinyurl.com/3mxg5zt

Re-Versioning, not Retelling: http://bit.ly/N2Ztno @SophieMasson1

Agents and self-publishing: http://bit.ly/PBd5r1 @Porter_Anderson @thecreativepenn @ornaross

Family connections that impact plot in crime fiction: http://bit.ly/MkzacA @mkinberg

A flowchart which will help you decode dystopia: http://bit.ly/N2ZFCZ @ebookfriendly @erin_bowman

Top 10 homes in literature: http://bit.ly/PnIm3X @guardianbooks

Using Visualization to Write Killer Hooks: http://bit.ly/PnLnRI @electricblogger

3 Key Ways to Create Characters That Grip Readers’ Hearts: http://bit.ly/PnOBoi @JodyHedlund

7 Tips for Crafting a Believable Fantasy: http://bit.ly/PnOMjA @4YALIT

Appeal to the Senses—and Emotions: http://bit.ly/PnOPMl @JodieRennerEd @janice_hardy

No Story Is Original, But That’s Okay: http://bit.ly/PnP5L3 @fuelyourwriting

5 Writing Lessons 1 Writer Learned From Fighting: http://bit.ly/PnQb9S @ajackwriting

Micro Tension: http://bit.ly/PnY2Ea @V_Rossibooks

5 Ways to Go From Blogger to Published Book Author: http://bit.ly/PnYt1j @NinaAmir

Ugly Covers for Great Books: http://bit.ly/PnYPFp @publisherswkly

Two Sides To Every Story. At Least. http://bit.ly/PnZHtv @mooderino

An editor gives a critique of a story’s opening pages: http://bit.ly/O0MAvD @theresastevens

Christopher Paolini Interview: http://bit.ly/O0MJ2o @fantasyfaction

5 Tips to Boost Your Writing Productivity: http://bit.ly/O0MWmd @jeanoram

How to Use a Screenwriting Trick to Fix Your Broken Story: http://bit.ly/O0NacS @write_practice

5 Ways Your Brain Sabotages Your Writing… And What To Do About It: http://bit.ly/O0Nicq @kimber_regator

The importance of book bloggers to a book’s success: http://bit.ly/O0NFDG @JonathanGunson

Bust 4 Myths to Gain More Writing Time: http://bit.ly/O0QDbm @LyndaRYoung

5 tips to make your synopsis stronger: http://bit.ly/O0QPaJ @C_Herringshaw

Do self-publishers still need to explain why? http://bit.ly/O0QYLl @dirtywhitecandy

A self-pubbed writer on selling foreign rights: http://bit.ly/O0R6dH @indie_jane

Book Promotion: 4 Ways to Provide Value to Your Readers: http://bit.ly/O0Ro49 @beth_barany

How cozy romance sets itself apart: http://bit.ly/O0RBEw

How to Trust Yourself as a Writer: http://bit.ly/O0T8uu @lyndaryoung

International Writers And The U.S. 30% Withholding Tax: Getting It Back: http://bit.ly/O0TQYt @woodwardkaren

Seducing Readers, Publishers and A Spouse at the Same Time: http://bit.ly/O0U2ab @ninaamir @52Betty

How to Get Your Self-Published Books Noticed: http://bit.ly/Py57mt @howtowriteshop

10 Tips For Creating An Audio Book: http://bit.ly/Nop1kI @thecreativepenn

5 tasks for building a platform: http://bit.ly/O0UCoo @emergentpublish

Words that we should consider eliminating in our stories (if there are too many of them): http://bit.ly/O0UO7f @livewritethrive

A Beginner’s Guide To Blogging: http://bit.ly/O0UVQb @ollinmorales

Enough Self-Published Rough Drafts! Why The Self-Publishing Industry Needs Standards: http://bit.ly/O0V71S @duolit @GrubStreetReads

Harlequin Lawsuit Offers Valuable Contract Lessons: http://bit.ly/O0Vc5F @authorems

How Self-Publishing has Helped All Writers: http://bit.ly/O0Whdz @kristenlambTX

Want to help books survive? Promote authors yourself: http://bit.ly/O0WjSS @guardianbooks

Police Procedure: Making It Believable: http://bit.ly/O0WtcY @junglereds

External Conflict vs. Internal Conflict: http://bit.ly/PN5864 @glencstrathy

10 Character Cliches: http://bit.ly/PN5olJ @xymarla

A Social Media Survival Guide: http://bit.ly/u6hyMd @rllafevers

Your greatest asset as a writer: http://bit.ly/PN63U4 @soniasimone @Porter_Anderson

How to Tap Into Your Experiences for Writing Inspiration: http://bit.ly/PN6VrY @adoptedreality

Birdhouse-like Mini Libraries: http://bit.ly/PN70Mf @pubperspectives

The importance of a 5-year plan in creating writing goals: http://bit.ly/PN7eTr @bob_brooke

Real Life Can Challenge the Writing Life: http://bit.ly/N2R3fM

No, Kickstarter is Not the #2 Graphic Novel Publisher: http://bit.ly/NtvgU8 @tordotcom

Tips for adapting your book for a screenplay: http://bit.ly/OLOdfN @GrubWriters @jenna_blum

J.R.R. Tolkien’s Top 10 Tips for Writers: http://bit.ly/NWucnL @JonathanGunson

Show and tell: Character–http://bit.ly/NLwTKu

Helping Writers De-Stress: Meditation Apps: http://bit.ly/NLwXtG @woodwardkaren

Using a characterization worksheet: http://bit.ly/NLwYxA

Working with freelance editors: http://bit.ly/NLx5cu @SusanSpann

Rejection Letters – How to Keep them from Ending Your Career: http://bit.ly/NLx6gu

Is Your Internalization Working? A Crit of One MS: http://bit.ly/NLx9cf @janice_hardy

Tips on Writing a Superhero Team: http://bit.ly/NLxcoA

Don’t Let Secondary Characters Knock Out Your Muses: http://bit.ly/NLxj3r

Creative Writing: 7 Ways to Get Out of Your Own Way: http://bit.ly/NLxhZb @beth_barany

How to Breathe New Life into Your Writing: the Magic of Metaphor: http://bit.ly/NLxmw0 @joebunting

The Bookless Library: http://bit.ly/NLxrzT @tnr

Your writing process doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s: http://bit.ly/NLxziV @chuckwendig {lang.}

Are dream sequences in novels always taboo? http://bit.ly/N3jJ9f @dirtywhitecandy

How to Get Your Spouse to Support Your Dream: http://bit.ly/N3jOd1 @jeffgoins

1 writer’s experience as a virtual intern and tools for working remotely: http://bit.ly/McvLlU @womenwriters @Victoria_Writes

Surviving a writers’ conference with your dreams, sanity, and energy in one piece: http://bit.ly/N3k4ZL

A critique of a manuscript’s opening hook: http://bit.ly/N3kajW @janice_hardy

An Easy Alternative to Business Cards: Instant Email: http://tcrn.ch/N3kkYK @techcrunch

The online writing community and places there to connect: http://bit.ly/N3kjE8 @catewoods

Strong Sentences; Concrete Nouns and Verbs: http://bit.ly/Mcw3sW

How to use your 15 minutes with an agent: http://bit.ly/Mcw6oS @nicolamorgan

15 Steps to Create Great Blog Videos: http://bit.ly/Mcw7c8 @jfbookman

7 tips for publicizing and promoting your book: http://bit.ly/Mcw8Nq @ChuckSambuchino

Making the Most of Ideas: http://bit.ly/McwCDh @davidbcoe

Different publishing paths to consider: http://bit.ly/McwEe9 @SouthrnWritrMag

How Much Internalization is Too Much? http://bit.ly/McwIdS @Janice_Hardy

5 Ways to Make Google Your “Assistant Publicist”: http://bit.ly/McwHqo @livewritethrive

Put Your Reader in Your POV Character’s Skin: http://bit.ly/McwJys @margielawson

Evaluating Ideas for Books: http://bit.ly/QSaWg1 @jillkemerer

How To Market Your Book At Cons: http://bit.ly/QSbanr @BryanThomasS @lkblackburne

Can you afford to be fashionably late to the digital party? http://bit.ly/QSbdQg @jentalty

What to Do When Your Writing’s Worst Enemy Is You: http://bit.ly/QSbsuE @krissybrady

Great writers are great rewriters: http://bit.ly/QSbyCn @josephputnam

Get Your Story Across The Finish Line: http://bit.ly/QSbCC7 @fuelyourwriting

Why it’s important for every aspiring creator to turn pro: http://bit.ly/QSbSB6 @markmcguinness

3 Reasons to Write About Ghosts: http://bit.ly/QSdw5F @joebunting

5 Mistakes Killing Self-Published Authors: http://bit.ly/QSdAT3 @kristenlambTX

Synthesizing Feedback: http://bit.ly/QSdHy4 @kid_lit

An agent answers questions from writers: http://bit.ly/QSdPNT @breeogden

Make your writing time matter: http://bit.ly/QyyW3k @jessicastrawser

After The First Draft: http://bit.ly/Qyz96t @mooderino

Why 1 writer writes airport books: http://bit.ly/QyzAOf @nickthacker

Promo–Test Your Cross Markets for Effectiveness: http://bit.ly/PXtyd2 @rileymagnus

Pressure your characters with the law — criminal charges aren’t the only option: http://bit.ly/PXuOgs

3 Blog Post Headline Fails: http://bit.ly/PXveU0 @JudyLeeDunn

Can Critiques Be Useful Before a Draft Is Complete? http://bit.ly/QyCWkr @BrianKlems

3 steps for writers interested in self-pubbing: http://bit.ly/PXyb6Z @woodwardkaren

Does Facebook Advertising Work? (One Author’s Experience): http://bit.ly/PXyjU1 @goblinwriter

The Moment That Makes or Breaks Your Story: http://bit.ly/PXyrmA @storyfix

4 Ways to Improve Plot/Climax in Your Writing: http://bit.ly/PXBFGK

How to create and maintain narrative interest: http://bit.ly/PXCaRc @jammer0501

Writing your novel with baby steps: http://bit.ly/PXCm2R

4 tips for discovering your writing voice: http://bit.ly/T0HgMg @ThreeKingsBooks

Why Your Hero Needs a Yappy Sidekick: http://bit.ly/N2VEyz @KMWeiland

Afterward vs. Afterword: http://bit.ly/O9pwi4 @write_practice

20 Evocative French Words: http://bit.ly/NLxvQb @writing_tips

Salvador Dali’s Creative Thinking Technique: http://bit.ly/O9poPI @MichaelMichalko

Ebook sales aren’t a zero sum game: http://bit.ly/NtqypC @JAKonrath

4 Ways to Improve Plot/Climax in Your Writing: http://bit.ly/PXBFGK

Writing About Death And Crime Scenes: http://bit.ly/N3k3F8 @thecreativepenn

Writing YA–themes: http://bit.ly/McqJQt @AlexSokoloff

Tips for dealing with writer’s block: http://bit.ly/McqSU9 @SouthrnWritrMag

Does Social Media Really Help With Book Success? http://bit.ly/McqXXK @jodyhedlund

Is Your Post Publish Ready? Give it a 24 Hour Test: http://bit.ly/Mcr2uu @WritingH

5 Helpful Writing Prompt & Exercise Books: http://bit.ly/Mcr8m6 @janefriedman

Qualities of a Great Critique Group: http://bit.ly/McrhpD

3 Sentences with Dangling Modifiers: http://bit.ly/McrmcW

How does your publisher make money? http://bit.ly/McrtVI @rachellegardner

Dialogue Tag Misconceptions: http://bit.ly/McrxET @lynettelabelle

From Newbie to Published: 12 Tips: http://bit.ly/McrDMK @jamigold @TiffanyAllee

A Book Launch is an Investment in a Long-Term Career: http://bit.ly/Mcs5dT @danblank @originalimpulse

Religion, Like Sex, Sells E-Books: http://bit.ly/Mcs4H7 @passivevoiceblg

The Unbearable Stiffness of Formal Poetry and Writing for the Page: http://bit.ly/Mcsddw @glecharles

Trimming the fat from your manuscript: http://bit.ly/McszRv @yahighway

Lessons on Character from ThrillerFest: http://bit.ly/McsH3m @diymfa

The physical space of words: http://bit.ly/McsIo0

Writing lessons learned from “Sea”: http://bit.ly/McsNI7 @juliemusil

The Lazy Way to Make a Story Sell: http://bit.ly/PAB4GI

Agents recommending paid-for services? http://bit.ly/PAGm4X @nicolamorgan

Agatha Christie’s lasting appeal and her secret notebooks: http://bit.ly/PAGXUd @junglereds

Common Pitfalls and Cliches for Superhero Teams: http://bit.ly/PAH4PK

9 Keys to Blogging Success from A-List Bloggers: http://bit.ly/PAHk18 @JFBookman

Tips for writing suspenseful scenes: http://bit.ly/PAHQw1 @writersherry

Is self-pub an e-bubble? Does social media promo really sell books? http://bit.ly/M6bI7B @samatlounge @eoinpurcell @Porter_Anderson

Finding the Unfamiliar Phrase: http://bit.ly/O0N05c

In a market crowded with ebooks, discoverability is a problem: http://bit.ly/PBEE3r @hughmcguire @Porter_Anderson @ljndawson

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

My son is a rising sophomore in high school. I’ve heard from several friends with older kids that it might be smart for my son and I to get an early start researching colleges.

I started looking up information on college admissions. I realized that there’s an overwhelming amount of information out there. In fact, there’s so much information that it’s hard to know where to start looking. Not only is there information on various schools, but there are tips for activities to get involved in that look good on admissions forms, college interview tips, essay tips, and a tremendous amount of info on grants and scholarships.

My head started spinning.

I reminded myself that we have plenty of time to figure this stuff out and that’s the whole reason we’re starting early. There’s no magic pill to take to immediately know all there is to know about the college admission process. We’re just gradually going to need to absorb it.

This is remarkably like the process of finding out about publishing. Yes, there’s a lot of information. There might be too much information.

I’ve recently had two different new writers contact me about publishing. They were both local writers and just starting out. They asked me to bring them into the loop when it came to information about pursuing publishing.

I’m always happy to help out new writers. I had helpful writers point me in the right direction when I was the one asking a lot of questions. (And boy, has the publishing landscape changed since I started investigating it in the early 00s.)

It’s very hard to know how to advise new writers. I think it’s necessary to know a lot about where they are right now. Do they have a finished manuscript? Have they been working with a critique group? Have they been reading writing or publishing blogs? What do they know? How long have they been serious about writing? Is it a lifelong dream for them to be on a bookstore shelf or will they consider other options?

When I’ve mentioned self-publishing as an option in the recent past, new writers have almost seemed rebuffed by my suggestion. As if I somehow thought their work wasn’t of good enough quality to submit to New York publishers.

That wasn’t the case at all—it was more that I wanted to encourage them to find out more about a viable option for their books that might even enable them to reach the audience they’re looking for.

What I think is one of the most important traits for writers interested in publishing (either traditional or self-publishing), is patience. We need to have patience with ourselves to fully learn and explore our options and patience with our story—the patience necessary to rework or revise it to make sure it’s ready for readers. And we need patience to learn our options and the current state of the industry. We need patience in order to develop our craft.

It can be nice, however, to at least have a starting point for our research (I’m finding one for the college search.) As a starting point for learning about publishing, I recommend industry expert Jane Friedman’s post—it’s sort of a beginner’s guide to publishing: Wanting to have your book published? A beginner’s guide.

How are you approaching gathering information on the industry and the writing craft? Any other traits that could be helpful for new writers?

Image: By English106

@joannelessner

“As someday it may happen that a victim must be found, I’ve got a little list.”

–W.S. Gilbert

I’m planning to kill my neighbor.

Lest you fear that I’ve just made you an accessory before the fact, rest assured that no actual blood will be spilled, although I do have a particularly gory end in mind for this guy. He’s one of those of selfish, antagonistic neighbors—apartment-dwellers will recognize the type—who has no consideration for anyone else, yet complains constantly about the rest of us. And so, he must die. Most likely, in book three.

In the first installment of my Isobel Spice mystery series, The Temporary Detective, Isobel arrives in New York City eager to pursue her acting career. On the first day of her first temp job, she stumbles across an obnoxious, overbearing secretary dead in a bathroom stall, a pair of scissors buried in her ample bosom.

Okay, so who was this secretary really? Why, the woman who got me fired from my first temp job, of course! She thought I spent too much time yakking on the phone to my friends, which, admittedly, I did. I had the idea for my series shortly after that, although I didn’t write the book for almost twenty years. I guess you could say I hold a grudge, because even after all that time, she was still my first victim. I put her on the page—and then I killed her. [Insert maniacal laugh.]

Writers have always populated their fiction with thinly disguised acquaintances. D.H. Lawrence wrote an amusing poem on the subject, called “I am in a novel,” in which the protagonist is shocked to learn, via his fictional alter ego, what his author friend really thinks of him. After years living in New York, temping and working in the theater, I’ve filed away a handful of standout jerks whose demises I have been plotting for a while.

In the second Isobel Spice novel, Bad Publicity (due out early next year), Isobel temps in a public relations firm, where a troublesome consultant drinks poisoned coffee before a meeting. Wanna guess? That’s right: a demanding client who made my colleagues and me miserable, and then fired us. Off he goes into the beyond, dispatched with a not-so-accidental overdose of prescription drugs.

Which brings me back to my belligerent neighbor. Since Isobel’s third adventure is still in the planning stages, I hadn’t quite settled on my victim until the other day, when this guy did something particularly galling. In the unlikely event that he reads my book, chances are slim that he’ll recognize himself, despite being a class-A narcissist. Like most of us, he has little awareness of how others perceive him.

One of the great things about being a writer is having the power to create your own world and populate it with whomever you want. It’s a particular perk of the mystery novelist that you get to regularly de-populate it as well. From now on, every time I find myself trapped in the elevator with my neighbor, I can relish the secret knowledge that—at least on paper—he’s going to get what he deserves.

Joanne Sydney Lessner  is the author of Pandora’s Bottle, a novel inspired by the true story of the world’s most expensive bottle of wine (Flint Mine Press, 2010) and The Temporary Detective (Dulcet Press, 2012). Joanne also enjoys an active performing career, and with her husband, composer/conductor Joshua Rosenblum, she has co-authored several musicals, including the cult hit Fermat’s Last Tango and Einstein’s Dreams, based on the celebrated novel by Alan Lightman.

@JoanRylen

Thanks Elizabeth, for having us today so we could share our crazy, co-author story with your readers.

Hey y’all! We are Johnell Kelley and Robbyn Hill, co-authors of Getaway Girlz, our debut novel, written under pen name Joan Rylen. We grew up together in Pasa “Get Down” dena, Texas, famous for the John Travolta movie, Urban Cowboy and the mechanical bull at Gilley’s. We lived five short streets from each other, and were side-by-side in all the same stuff: Brownies, dance, band, house-wrapping, boy-chasing. We stayed in touch after attending different colleges, both eventually landing in Fort Worth, which we still call home.

All of this togetherness has culminated into a series based (loosely) on the annual girls’ trips we take with two other longtime friends. The first trip was intended to rally around Johnell during her double-whammy life-changing events: her four-kids-under-four divorce in conjunction with the big 3-0. The trip was so fun we’ve kept up the tradition and have had as many of 11 girlz on the trips, but always the ‘core four.’

The novels are roughly-based on our trips because thankfully, we’ve never had a murder or other mysterious situation happen while on vaca. Good grief, no one would travel with us if we did! But we do go on location for “research” and always write some of our experiences into the books. Bucket dancing on a beautiful Playa del Carmen beach, white water rafting through the Royal Gorge in Colorado, slamming giant syringe shots on Bourbon Street and entering a pumpkin-dropping contest the Adirondacks are just a few of the tidbits that find their way into our novels. We’re excited about our fall trip that will help us with the details of book five…Lone Star SOMETHING (we haven’t decided yet!). Check out our website and you’ll no doubt find pictures of us yee-hawing around a dude ranch in Bandera, Texas.

The initial idea for a book popped into Robbyn’s head and wouldn’t leave her alone. The first time we sat down to work, we worked our way through a 12-pack of Dos Equis and the idea for the series was born. We laughed and laughed, recounting our crazy adventures and were hooked, never looking back.

We knew we could do this, and do it right. Granted, there were a lot of things we didn’t know, like what a literary agent was (or that we might need one). We had no idea about writing conferences, critique groups, e-pub files, Publisher’s Marketplace and a whole slew of other things that writers need to know about, but we jumped in laptop first, nonetheless.

We’ve learned a lot during the past three and a half years which improved our writing and lead us to the ginormous decision to self-publish. After attending a conference in NYC and pitching to four editors with the Big Six (three out of four requested partials), we received an offer from an agent for representation of our first three books, but decided that wasn’t for us. We’re pretty strong-willed girlz and the thought of losing control over so much through a major publisher didn’t sit well. Because of the industry standard with newcomers, we’d have to market the heck out of ourselves anyway, so we went for it.

We launched our first book this past June and to date have sold close to 600. We’ve had numerous signings at Barnes and Noble and are working to get the word out!

We’re on a tight deadline for book two, Rocky Mountain Mayhem, being released in December. Then, it’s nose to the grindstone for book three, Big Easy X-capade, to be released in June 2013.

We write in restaurants and bars in downtown Fort Worth. We tried working in quieter spots, like at home, but Johnell falls asleep (mother of four!). We drink buckets of beer, margaritas, wine on occasion, and we’re productive (okay, up to a point), but it’s turned out to be great marketing for us. We get all set up with two laptops and “Old Bessie,” our external keyboard. People inquire as to what we’re working on or who our employer is since they let us work in bars. Often, after chatting and showing them what we’re working on they’ll buy a book. One of our favorite writing spots, Chuy’s, is framing a copy of the book and hanging it right by the front door. Woo hoo, love Chuy’s!

Our approach to writing and publishing may not work for everyone but it was the best decision for us. Y’all watch out, we may be vacationing researching at a destination near you soon, and you never know what we’ll use for inspiration in the next book!
Adios!

Johnell & Robbyn

www.getawaygirlz.com

by Josephine Carr, @ThreeKingsBooks

Tips for Finding your Writing Voice

When my writing career began thirty years ago, I got lucky. The young adult genre was just beginning, and the market was hungry for novels with teenage protagonists. This was a boon for any unpublished writer, of course, but the real luck was something else entirely.

By writing a young adult novel, I immediately found my voice.

In reading and mentoring other new writers, I recognize that their voice is often murky, or missing entirely. I’m not the first to say this, and I know you’ve read it all over the place, but here it comes again: voice is vital.

This is no joke. You can make any number of mistakes in plotting, character development, point of view, and theme, but if you haven’t found your voice, you will not be published. (Even if you self-publish, your success will always be limited.)

Voice is intangible, difficult to define, and impossible to teach, but if you have it, everything else you might do wrong will be fixable. So what’s a writer to do?

I have some practical suggestions.

(1) Write in the first person.

This can be instantly helpful to a writer searching for their voice. When I received an offer to publish my young adult novel, No Regrets, so many years ago, it was for one reason only. I sounded distinct and unassuming. This happened despite the fact that my prose style has never been lyrical or beautiful in any way. I am a prosaic writer, with a crisp style, but by writing a story that happened to be mildly autobiographical, and in the first person, I immediately tapped into my natural writing voice.

(2) Read your own writing aloud.

This is such an easy, yet profound, method for hearing what you sound like. As you read your prose aloud, you’ll be able to tell if it sounds like you. When the voice is off, it jars, often because there’s a pretentious quality, or there are simply too many words jostling for attention.

(3) Write from your stomach, not your mind.

By writing from your gut, as opposed to your conscious mind, you will find a voice that is compelling and real. When I begin writing a novel, I can literally feel my stomach speaking. I’m not being figurative or wishy-washy by this description. I mean it. My stomach seems to expand and send out messages. Indeed, it’s possible for me to feel ever so slightly nauseous, or a little squirrelly down there when I’ve begun and then realize it’s rolling along in a way I’d never have predicted. The words tumble out in a flow like water from a faucet. If/when that happens, I know I’ve got it. Let go of your doggone head and write from the stomach.

(4) Write for yourself.

I am a huge fan of story structure and planning out a novel because it will unquestionably enhance the reader’s experience — I studied screenwriting, and I know it’s been an important factor in my success as a writer. But the architecture of a novel comes after you’ve found your voice. In the beginning of a novel’s composition, just write a sentence or two without thinking about anyone reading what you’ve written. Be loosey-goosey and relaxed.

Your voice doesn’t merely sound like you. Your voice smells, looks, and feels like you. Without it, your writing is like a cake that fails to rise in the oven. Flat, thin, compressed. And what makes a cake rise? Baking soda and beaten eggs, both of which form bubbles in the batter.

Your words are bubbles, and they lift us to create a buoyant world, uniquely you. When you write, be yourself, even if that self is somehow scary, a failure, or imperfect. Aren’t we all?

Josephine Carr is a thirty year veteran of traditional publishing (HarperCollins, NAL/Penguin, Dial Books for Young Readers) who’s thrilled to be relaunching herself under the banner Three Kings Books. She’d welcome your visit to her blog where she posts about how to write well, publish, and survive the trials of a writer’s life. The first mystery in her new series, The Rabbi’s Mother, will be published in September, 2012. Follow her on twitter @threekingsbooks.