LAURENCE MACNAUGHTON

Tag: writing a novel

  • How To Make A Disastrous Booksigning Event A Success by J.A. Konrath

    Author J.A. Konrath I happened across this writing article by J.A. Konrath recently at  Backspace, The Writer’s Place.  I remember reading it years ago, probably in Writer’s Digest somewhere.  Joe really knows his stuff when it comes to literary agents, publishers and how to write a book.  So check this out; it’s a great piece…

  • Help Fight Diabetes and Win a Critique!

    That’s right, folks.  You already know you can write a novel — and now’s your chance to prove it.  Thanks to the heroic efforts of Brenda Novak and her elite team of auction experts, you have a chance to help a great cause AND win a personal manuscript critique from Yours Truly.  And of course,…

  • Aspiring Writers, Take Notes!

    You can write a novel that seems absolutely perfect to you: the dialogue is tight, the characters are richly layered and the plot crackles with energy.  But you’ll still get notes, I guarantee it.  And that’s a good thing. Notes, by the way, are the comments you get from decision-makers (mostly literary agents and editors)…

  • Literary Agents, Editors and You, at the Brenda Novak Diabetes Fundraiser

    This is a great charity event!  I’ve been wanting to donate to this for years.  (True story: back when I worked at a book distributor, there were two pallets of Nora Roberts and Iris Johansen paperbacks I was almost able to donate, but then there was an unfortunate incident involving a blizzard, an aging forklift…

  • Feel the Invisible Robot Love

    These days, most of our precious writing usually ends up online, where it is relentlessly scrutinized by robots.  Not the sparky “Danger, Will Robinson, danger!” kind of robots, but invisible little computer gremlins that furrow through the internet, looking for text to gnaw on.  That way, if you go to Google and search for —…

  • Transform Your Hero and Get Published

    I was just listening to a fantastic interview with the late, great Blake Snyder, author of the Save the Cat! books.  One of the many insightful things he said was, “Tell me a story about a hero who transforms over the course of an adventure.” That’s something that I struggle with in my own writing. …

  • Why Editors Are Just Not That Into You

    Whenever I hear a writer complain that editors just aren’t “getting” her latest story, I suspect what they’re actually not getting out of it is emotion.  As human beings, we like to sit around the campfire, literally or metaphorically, and tell each other stories.  Stories enlighten us, inspire us, gift us with a new perspective. …

  • Today’s Writing Prompt: Kill Your Character!

    You’re not killing her, not really.  Just bear with me for a minute.  This is one of my crazy creative writing exercises. First, write a short scene where a major character gets killed.  Show it from the perspective of another viewpoint character.  How it happens is up to you, but it should be directly connected…

  • I Want to Teach You How to Write a Novel

    Over the last few years, I’ve met and interviewed a bunch of authors at different stages in their career, from the very beginning to the very top.  In one case, I had the privilege of hanging out with a debut author the same day he discovered he’d hit the New York Times bestseller list.  As…