How I Outlined All Your Twisted Secrets

How I Outlined All Your Twisted Secrets

by | Jan 7, 2019

I’ve always loved learning about how a book came to fruition. It’s fascinating to learn how my favorite stories were crafted, and how authors have such different processes. So today I’m giving you a behind-the-scenes look at how I outlined my...
What It’s Like to Edit Your Book for a Publisher

What It’s Like to Edit Your Book for a Publisher

by | Nov 16, 2018

I’ve regaled you before with my advice for tackling edit letters when revising a novel, which was based on my experience editing for agents and CPs. For the most part, this is still my process. But now that I’ve survived my first round of edits of All Your Twisted...
How I Tackle Edit Letters When Revising a Novel

How I Tackle Edit Letters When Revising a Novel

by | Jan 2, 2018

I recently completed a round of edits for my newest novel! Revising a novel can be tricky business. While my process is still fresh in my head, I wanted to share it for anyone who might find it useful, or to satisfy your inexplicable curiosity. I’m 99% sure there is...
8 Most Helpful Books on Writing Fiction

8 Most Helpful Books on Writing Fiction

by | Oct 20, 2017

I rarely read nonfiction, but when I do, it’s usually on the craft of writing fiction. There’s a bit of irony in there somewhere. With each new book I write, I’m always looking to improve on my craft. As someone who never took creative writing classes or pursued...
6 Productivity Tools All Writers Should Know About

6 Productivity Tools All Writers Should Know About

by | Nov 5, 2015

As an author with a full-time job, I often struggle to find time to write in my busy schedule. When I manage set aside an hour or two to write, I need to make the most of this time and ensure I’m as productive as possible. Along the way, I’ve discovered several...
43 Words You Should Cut From Your Writing Immediately

43 Words You Should Cut From Your Writing Immediately

by | Sep 8, 2015

When revising any piece of writing — a novel, a news article, a blog post, marketing copy, etc. — there are certain words I delete to make the text stronger and cut my word count. When I’m writing a novel, one of my last drafts focuses on cutting these...
The Guilt of Not Writing Every Day

The Guilt of Not Writing Every Day

by | Jun 24, 2015

I love writing. Those moments when I build tension that terrifies even me, or add dialogue that brings a character to life, or write a description I can’t believe came from my own brain — those are the moments that make writing magical. But there are some days...