Tag: behind the scenes
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5 Books That Will Inspire You to Be a Writer
Are you planning to write a book in 2020? Want some writing inspiration and wisdom from authors who have written dozens or even hundreds of stories and books? Check out my list of the five most inspiring books about writing over at Civilian Reader. P.S. Do you love free stuff . . . like books,…
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9 Surprising Things I Love about Writing (and One Thing I Hate)
True story: When I was 17, I met an African storyteller. He traveled to distant parts of the world, collecting oral stories and writing them down for posterity. He was my first real-life writing teacher. His feedback helped me get started as a writer. Within a couple of years, I had sold my first magazine…
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Making Fascinating Monsters on The Bibliosanctum
How do writers create fascinating monsters? For me, it’s a many-layered process that involves thinking about where a monster came from, what it’s after, how it thinks, and what happens when it encounters the heroes. I actually got the chance to dive deep into the monster-creation process and explain how to do it step-by-step, thanks…
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4 Amazing Skills I Wish I Had in Real Life
One of the little-known perks of being a writer is that I get to pretend that I know all kinds of cool stuff. Every character I create is an expert in something. They can hack into top-secret computer networks, field strip an AK-47 blindfolded, make a peanut butter sandwich without dripping any. These people have…
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Undead behind the scenes in A Kiss Before Doomsday
In case you missed it, the Science Fiction Book Club chose A Kiss Before Doomsday as a featured pick. Which, as an author, is incredibly exciting. To celebrate, I put together a behind-the-scenes special that the book club shared with their members this summer. If you’ve ever wondered where writers get their ideas, read on.…
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Why I Became a Writer (And It’s Not Why You Think)
Do you ever wonder if maybe we make crucial life choices based on completely misunderstanding the world around us? One of the most common questions I’m asked in interviews is: What made you decide to become a writer? I tend to talk about reading and storytelling as a kid, playing with an old typewriter, that…
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The Bulletproof Secret to Doing Anything Better
Every writer I’ve ever talked to always wants to achieve more. (Even Hugh Howey.) We all want to reach more readers, sell more books, write better stories, and so on. All of us, writers or not, want to do more and do it better. The question is, how?
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How to Make Writing Your Career: Word Cafe Interview with Yours Truly
Hey, this is cool. Join me over at Word Cafe for an interview where I reveal everything I know about: • Building a full-time career around writing, as a novelist and a copywriter — and what a copywriter does, exactly. • How my first book from a New York publisher actually started out as a…
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What an Editor Really Does — and Why You Need One
I first met Anita when she worked with my literary agent, Kristin Nelson. Anita is a freelance editor who helps writers bring out the very best in their novels. She was kind enough to share her editing insights, including why you should never let a rejection letter get you down, and why joining a critique…
LAURENCE MACNAUGHTON 