I hear people on the Internet, especially on YouTube, say that their English teachers had told them that “Said is dead”, meaning, don’t use the word “said” when writing a novel or short story. I don’t remember my teachers saying that specifically, but they did insist that we use more “interesting” words to describe speech. … Continue reading Said is NOT dead
Writing
Posts about writing
No warmups – just write!
There is a lot of advice out there about preparing to sit down and write your book. Some people tell you to free write or journal beforehand. They say to just write about anything that comes to mind. I’ve sort of tried this and it’s okay. But I guess I didn’t love it, or I’d … Continue reading No warmups – just write!
Don’t fall for the free ISBNs!
You may be aware that for a lot of online book distributors, you don’t need an ISBN to publish your ebook. If you want to publish a print copy or an ebook with Apple’s iBooks, you need an ISBN. I think you should get an ISBN anyway, even if you don’t have to get one. … Continue reading Don’t fall for the free ISBNs!
How to write your book faster
There is lots of advice out there on how to write faster and be more productive. They tell us to be more organised before we sit down to write. Plan ahead. If you only have an hour a day, or even less, make sure that you know ahead of time what you need to write, … Continue reading How to write your book faster
Another free promotion of Tamisan
Tamisan is free on the 22nd July on Amazon! Grab it now!
Why Amazon is driving me crazy right now
It started with the Kindle app on my phone. I used to be able to download and read a sample of a book, and if I liked it, I could click a link at the end of the sample and buy the full book. Not anymore. Now I have to go out of Kindle, open … Continue reading Why Amazon is driving me crazy right now
Excerpt of NEW Chapter 1 of Tamisan
Chapter 1 I felt a strange apprehension when I stepped out of the shuttle into the sunlight and it sent a shiver down my spine, but the feeling quickly subsided as I looked around me. This place was magnificent! It was a tropical jungle paradise. Tall trees surrounded us on all sides. The only break … Continue reading Excerpt of NEW Chapter 1 of Tamisan
It pays to learn the craft first
Are you new to writing? Have you been writing for a while? I’ve been writing for a long time, but it wasn’t always full-time and I would go for long periods of time where I would be too busy with life to write. I went through some rough patches which eventually led to me getting … Continue reading It pays to learn the craft first
Short stories are NOT good practice for writing novels
I’ve heard that a lot of people who want to write a novel think that they should write short stories first as “practice” before diving in and writing a full-length novel. There’s a major flaw with that plan. Writing short stories is very different to writing a novel. The structure is different. This means that … Continue reading Short stories are NOT good practice for writing novels
Music to write to and for inspiration
A lot of authors on YouTube in some of the recent videos I’ve watched have been talking about using music as inspiration for writing. I love music and have something playing nearly all day every day and I’ve gotten some ideas for stories from songs, so I think what they’re saying is so spot on. … Continue reading Music to write to and for inspiration
TechSavvy Author - Susan McKenzie 