The experience of completing my first draft of TAKEN’s sequel has come with many ups and downs. The simplest thing I can say is this: Book Twos are strange beasts. Strange, strange beasts. My experience is not universal, but I do know a handful of writers that faced some of the same struggles (and epiphanies)...Continue Reading
I always struggle to find balance when I write a first draft. I’m either tweaking adjectives and commas so obsessively that I fail to move forward, or I’m plowing ahead so blindly that I write myself into a complete mess of poor pacing, character inconsistencies, plot holes, the works. I think many writers fight this...Continue Reading
When it comes to book series, cliffhangers are inevitable. That being said, I believe there are two very different types of cliffhangers: 1) The kind that leave you hanging, but settle the main conflict/plot before doing so 2) The kind that leave you hanging at the ultimate climax, with little or no resolution Personally, I...Continue Reading
Everyone says “know your characters,” but I don’t like to know my characters, at least not fully. Let me explain. I’ll start with a confession: I despise character worksheets. I think they are the worst type of pre-writing homework. I’ve tried to like them. Years ago, before I started writing my first novel, I used...Continue Reading
