Did you read the title in the We Rate Dogs voice? Go back and try it; I’ll wait.
The links were good again this week. 13/10.
I’m pleased to report the links held up under rigorous review from my editorial assistants, and we’re back with another mega-dump—same format as last time. Let’s dive in.
Save the date: Tuesday, May 19 at 12:00 p.m. US Central is our monthly live call exclusively for premium subscribers. Join me and my guest Beth Hill for a quick and lively brown bag call to talk about the craft of writing fiction.
Got thoughts about your characters’ thoughts? This month, we’ll be talking about character interiority—in particular, finding the balance between too much versus not enough interiority.
Why Brown Bag calls are brilliant: There are no slides, no agenda, and no performative teaching. Just Q&A and real conversation about writing, every third Tuesday of the month.
If you’ve been wanting a space where you can talk about writing without feeling lost in the crowd, this is it. I don’t have many premium subscribers, so our meeting feels warm and personal, and there’s room for everyone to chime in. It might just be one of the internet’s best-kept secrets for writers serious about growing their craft.
📌 The meeting link will be posted and emailed to premium subscribers closer to the meeting date. I’ll see you at lunch!
Those of you who’ve worked with me know I used to be a dancer and bring a full bill of studio- and stage-based sensibilities to the creativity table, so sharing Emma Darwin’s 13 things writers can learn from the theatre was a natural.
Fiction writing for U.S.-published novels follows the Chicago Manual of Style in matters of mechanics, style, and usage, and the rule for forming possessives of names ending in s (James’s book) looks wrong to many of us who learned other ways—but it’s simple in principle, truly.
Writers sometimes ask me why their smartly designed outlines didn’t turn out to be very good manuscripts. Here are five reasons why stories fail.
During my stay-at-home parenting years, I used to write about video games, and I agree 100% that video games can make you a better novelist.
My coaching groups have been working on dialogue lately. Rather than putting more good stuff in, we spend a lot of time taking things out to create subtext (all the things your characters shouldn’t say).
One of the most common storytelling problems I see in manuscripts is spackling together the ideas of a character’s wound, lie, misbelief, or ghost into a bog that sinks the story.
Here’s what to know if your story is weaving multiple plots, timelines, viewpoint characters, or subplots.
Motifs can help shape your story in subtle but powerful ways.
Too many writers today forget that you can create a dark, gritty story world or a sense of menace and danger without overt violence.
Learn how to “backfill” the action moments in your book using narrative summary within a scene.
How to sell books from your own website; more on the complexities of WooCommerce.
How to connect with librarians as an indie author.
How to critically assess a book cover.
How to delight your Facebook followers as an author.
Here’s what most people don’t realize about book sales and first printings.
Self-publishing has a steep but conquerable learning curve. Here are three things to know about beforehand.
Speaking of the self-pub learning curve, here’s a review of the best self-publishing courses.
Your book description can play a crucial role in improving your book’s Amazon ranking.
Unmask the unintentional signs that you self-published your book.
The number one thing you can do to improve your writing is to finish your manuscript and then write another.
This is all the stuff about writing books you never really slowed down to consider while you were busy writing.
This article and book will help you remember how writing and language can make you feel.
If you’re a writer who wants people to buy and read your book, you are a businessperson.
Over at Writers Helping Writers, where I’m a resident writing coach, I’ve been covering these areas:
Action beats are only one type of beat. Beats do double duty. They hold the interior and exterior of a scene together at the same time. Thoughts, gestures, physical reactions: these aren’t decorative. They’re load-bearing. Pull them and the scene collapses.
Structural secret: Character arc emerges organically from story structure. Look past the plot and you’ll find a larger shape underneath: the full arc of a character working their way from one side of the story problem to the other. That’s not plot, y’all—that’s Story.
Make yourself the most useful member of your writing group. Observe, affirm, question—that’s the whole method. Done well, it keeps the writer in charge of their own creative decisions while building the kind of critical eye that sharpens your own drafts too.
Quick note for those of you who've been waiting for a private coaching opening—I have not one but two spots that just opened up.
Private coaching is designed for writers who are actively drafting or revising. Most writers complete a draft in six to ten months. Here's what's included:
— Initial assessment of your story concept and outline
— Feedback on your pages twice a month, up to 25 pages per deadline
— 30-minute coaching session after each submission
— Email and Slack support all month long
— Individually curated craft resources (like The Writes of Fiction just for you!)
Private coaching is $599/month. These spots will go quickly—first come, first served. DM or email me!
Onward,
Lisa
This is The Writes of Fiction, a slow-simmered concoction of old and new thinking about writing fiction—the bits I find most helpful to writers finding their way. I hope they help you too.
And this is the face Tsuki the sparkle fairy uses to remind me to take editing breaks.
🐾 Support your #editorialassistants via Greyhound Adoption League of Texas.
If you enjoyed this week’s Writes of Fiction, consider a tip for a cup of tea. It’s book coach fuel.
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