I've been dealing with some authors recently who know nothing about weapons and firearms. It's okay not to know about them, let me start there. However, there are a few things that really get my goat when dealing with people writing about weapons.Read More

There are a million places online with writing productivity tips of varying qualities and from various experts. So, to launch myself onto that bandwagon with all the abandon of a toddler in a candy store, here's mine.Read More

Whether you're writing from first person or third person, you shouldn't write about things your POV character doesn't know. For example, if she doesn't know the person across from her plans to kill her, you shouldn't tell the reader that.Read More

I cannot tell you the number of times I have stumbled across an author who has had issues with facts in their manuscript. And I don’t mean little things. I’ve had authors who tried to flip safty off on revolvers (revolvers don’t have safeties as a rule) and who had someone doing cross stitch in...Read More

This is likely to be cross-posted on my brand new blog about roleplay (both tabletop and freeform). If you’re interested in the subject of tabletop gaming or freeform roleplay, please consider subscribing! So, I’ve talked a lot about characters and their development on here, but I wanted to address something that is important to a...Read More

Hey, everyone. I’m not dead, I’m just kind of quiet these days. I’ve been having some health struggles, and my livestream has been on hiatus pending some travel as well as a computer issue, so things have been pretty dead. However, a friend of mine mentioned she’d tried to read about the Beat Sheet and...Read More

I encountered an article published by an author who has (according to this), given up the ghost when it comes to novels. The tone is bitter, angry, and selfish. While I wouldn’t critique someone’s private blog or Facebook rant about their frustrations regarding publishing, this being published in the Guardian is a little different. So,...Read More

Many writers struggle with description. I recently had a manuscript that, in the same chapter, suffered from over-description and under-description. The author told the reader every inch of the main character’s morning routine in intimate detail and then didn’t describe the setting whatsoever. The balance of describing things is difficult because we are told over...Read More

I’ve been gone awhile due to my health, but I’m hopefully back now. I’m going to write once or twice a week until I find my stride again, but I haven’t abandoned the blog. Life has just been distracting me from my work here. So, this particular subject created a hotbed of contention in a...Read More

My triumphant return commences today. I’m sorry I’ve been gone so long, but between my husband’s health and my health we had the snot kicked out of us the last week. The good news is my husband is recovering, and I’m just waiting for the weather to break so I can return to my normal...Read More