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When Fear Gets in the Way

April 10, 2014 by Moira Allen

I am 21 years old. I am sure that I can be a very good writer; this isn't just my opinion. The problem is that I have no energy and no inspiration, although I have brilliant thoughts. Can you help me find inspiration? The problem you describe is not so uncommon. What you're looking for, I think, is not so much "inspiration" as "motivation." You have lots of ideas, but you … [Read more...]

Advantages and Disadvantages of Self-Publishing

April 3, 2014 by Moira Allen

What Are the Primary Advantages of Self-Publishing? The advantages of self-publishing are numerous: You retain full control over the content, design, and marketing of your book. You retain all rights to your manuscript (with the exception that self-publishing is itself a use of "publication" rights; you cannot then sell a book to a publisher as a "new," unpublished … [Read more...]

Four Ways to Bring Settings to Life

March 24, 2014 by Moira Allen

The devil, it's said, is in the details. So, too, is much of the work of a writer. Too little detail leaves your characters wandering through the narrative equivalent of an empty stage. Too much, and you end up with great blocks of description that tempt the reader to skip and skim, looking for the action. To set your stage, it's important to choose the most appropriate, … [Read more...]

Seven Deadly Sins of Fiction Writing

March 19, 2014 by Moira Allen

In addition to the five fatal mistakes cited here, several editors had their own pet peeves to share. Here are seven other problems that can speed your story to the rejection pile: Preachiness. "Stories that present an obvious moral, without nuances, subtlety, or complexity, are the first to hit the [reject] pile," says Skylar Burris of Ancient Paths. Cliches. "I did, … [Read more...]

What to Do When Someone Interviews You

March 12, 2014 by Moira Allen

You've just stepped out of the shower. Your robe is in the bedroom; the phone rings in the livingroom. You wrap a towel around yourself and run to grab it -- and a voice on the other end of the line asks if this would be a good time for an interview! What do you do? Be Prepared As a writer, you're probably accustomed to interviewing others. However, if you've published a … [Read more...]

Conducting Interviews

March 5, 2014 by Moira Allen

Recently I got a call from a PR agent who had set up an interview for me with one of her clients. She wanted to let me know how much the client had "enjoyed" the interview -- a rare experience, apparently. She also wanted to let me know that if I needed more information, I had only to ask. My first reaction was "Gee, what did I do?" My second was to wonder what other writers … [Read more...]

Is It Research or Plagiarism?

February 26, 2014 by Moira Allen

Hi! I am a beginning freelance writer. I am writing an article in which I've based some of my ideas on texts I used in college. Will I be sued if I don't ask the authors' permission? They say that "stealing from one source is plagiarism, but stealing from many sources is research." Is this true? At what point does the use of previously published material cross the line from … [Read more...]

What is Self-Publishing?

February 19, 2014 by Moira Allen

With the proliferation of inexpensive "pay-for-publication" options, this has become a confusing question. Many writers believe that "self-publication" refers to any mechanism by which the writer bears the cost of publication -- including subsidy electronic and print-on-demand publications. Many vendors encourage this belief, as "self-publishing" tends to sound more respectable … [Read more...]

Tips on Becoming a Effective Ghostwriter

February 12, 2014 by Moira Allen

This is a follow-up to The Invisible Writer - The Art of Becoming a Ghost. 1) Can ghostwriting be handled remotely, or do you need to meet your client? Respondents agreed that it generally wasn't necessary to be able to meet one-on-one with your client. "I prefer to talk to people over the phone and to, with their permission, record the conversation," says Wayne Pollard. … [Read more...]

Avoiding Comma Confusion

February 5, 2014 by Moira Allen

Are there too many commas in your writing? Not enough? Where do you need them and when? "Comma confusion" is one of the most common grammatical problems I find in manuscripts. Here are some quick tips to help you determine whether a comma is really necessary -- and if so, why and where. One way to help identify "right" and "wrong" punctuation is through substitutions. If you … [Read more...]

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