novelist
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Transcript: Whenever I ask my students what plot is, almost every time, they tell me: “The plot is the story.” Of course, I don’t say that to them, but it does go through my head every time. For many writers, the difference between story and plot might seem obvious. But for people new to the…
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A few weeks ago, I was talking with a group of writers mixed with people who wanted to write. The people who wanted to write were amazed that the writers had managed to take the leap and put pen to paper, and even more so for some of us to have finished an entire manuscript.…
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Transcript: Over the past couple of years, it has become unmistakably clear to me that there are too many writers out there writing for the main, and perhaps only, goal of getting published. Listen, it’s great if getting published is ONE of your writing goals, but for it to be your only goal? That’s why…
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Transcript: Ah, the query trenches, the deepest darkest pit of despair that a writer will ever face. A time of mental anguish with no foreseeable end, and when that long-awaited end does come, will it change your life and writing career for the better or crush your soul into a fine pile of dust? The…
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Transcript: Have you ever felt stuck in your writing, unsure if you’re on the right track, or just completely overwhelmed? You’re not alone. Many writers reach a point where they feel absolutely lost and have to rely on the support of others to get them through it. You can access blogs, YouTube channels (like this…
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Transcript: Have you ever had a great idea for a book… but no clue how to actually turn it into a full story? While many writers struggle with even coming up with ideas in the first place, there are many more who have amazing ideas that they just don’t know what to do with. If…
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A few years ago, I sat down to write a story with only a short scene in mind. In three months, I had a roughly 130,000 page manuscript written. Was it in desperate need of rewrites and revisions? Yes, of course. But the beautiful part was it was completely written. I had the chunk of…
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Transcript: The number of times writing teachers, critique partners, or coaches tell a writer to “show, don’t tell” without any explanation is way too high. It’s a problem because it gets treated like a magical cure-all for your writing. If you just show and never tell, all your writing problems will disappear, right? While it’s…
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I’m currently in the process of earning my certification as a fiction book coach through Author Accelerator, and I need your help to complete my practicum! To earn my certificate, I need to work directly with a client on a completed manuscript draft of at least 75,000 words. Here’s how it works: This entire process…
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Even though we learn to talk well before we learn to write, writing dialogue can prove to be quite a challenge for many writers. If you’ve spent most of your life writing academically or professionally and are just now diving into creative writing and storytelling, dialogue can often feel impossible to master. But don’t worry,…
C. Sloan Lewis | Your Virtual Writing Coach 