• Dawn McClure

    Tech Tips for Better Writing by KC Burn 

        Published: September 22nd, 2011  Views: 651 
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    Most of us use Microsoft Word, which is designed more for business and academic writing. Regardless, there are ways we can use Word’s features to implement some fiction writing advice and axioms, and I think my editors appreciate my efforts.

    1. Don’t Edit As You Write

    CTRL F (or Command F on the Mac) is your friend. It opens the Find & Replace dialogue box in Word. I use it to find repeated words, -ly adverbs or garbage words. If I decide I want to change Jonathon to Matthew, I can do that with ease.

    Categories:
    1. Craft
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    Learn the Craft by Emma Lane 

        Published: September 22nd, 2011  Views: 316 
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    So you’ve written a book, short story, biography. What now? So many of my fellow writers chat about the lonesome days before they discovered the groups available on line. RWA is a biggie for romance writers (like me) and I expect there are groups for every genre. Finding them initially might be more difficult than one would like. I have been to some Facebook reads where struggling authors beg plaintively for help. Been there, done that. I wanted to give them all hugs along with any information I had. I don’t have all the answers and I expect I’ll continue to learn the craft all my life. But there is information out there to be gathered.
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    1. Craft
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    Are Demons Sexy? by Carolyn Rosewood 

        Published: September 21st, 2011  Views: 541 
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    Thank you so much for having me here today!

    Are demons sexy? Well that depends on how you look at them.

    Demons, depending on what you read or believe, can be anything from Satan's imps to a spirit of happiness. In some present-day cultures demons are still feared largely due to their believed ability to possess humans. Freud believed the fact that demons are always regarded as the spirits of those who have died recently shows better than anything the influence the influence of mourning on the origin of the belief in demons.

    Categories:
    1. Craft
    2. Research
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    On With the Show; Off with the Tell by Jill Elizabeth Nelson 

        Published: September 20th, 2011  Views: 727 
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    Learning a technique called Deep Point of View transformed my writing. Deep POV obliterated nearly all issues with show/don’t tell in my writing. This skill was imparted to me by the first professional editor who ever worked with me. She helped me with substantive edits of my debut novel, Reluctant Burglar. Honestly, after she got through explaining and demonstrating the technique that she wanted me to apply to my manuscript, and I saw what a difference it made to the craft of the story I wondered why the publisher had bothered to buy the raw manuscript in the first place!

    Are you primed and ready to roll?

    Categories:
    1. Craft
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    The Research Never Stops by Renee Wildes 

        Published: September 20th, 2011  Views: 646 
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    Part of being a writer is doing research. Now, there are two kinds of research. The first is obvious—looking up something specific in a book or on the Internet. I’m going to talk about the second, less obvious kind—life, living. Because when you’re a writer, the research never stops.

    It’s observing, listening, participating in everyday life. It’s interacting with other people, learning, delegating and diplomacy. Making mistakes and learning from them. Multitasking, prioritizing and time management. Every person you meet, everything you experience, is something to take note of. Because you never know when it may come in handy.
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    1. Research
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    Words of Wisdom by Sandy Sullivan 

        Published: September 20th, 2011  Views: 373 
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    I've often been asked by interviewers and new authors alike, what is the best advice you can give someone just starting out, so I thought I'd share my experiences with Savvy Authors blog.

    I'm not an author who has been around forever writing feverishly since I could barely reach the keyboard of an electric typewriter, although stories have been floating around in my head ever since I can remember. I wrote a play when I was in seventh grade for my neighborhood kids to perform for our parents. I don't even remember what it was called now, only that it had something to do with a dog. Anyway, this goes back to my experiences writing romance novels.

    Categories:
    1. Writing Life
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    Repurposing Bits & Pieces: Build A Better Monster…er, Story! by Beth Daniels 

        Published: September 20th, 2011  Views: 362 
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    Beth Daniels, aka Beth Henderson, J.B. Dane

    We live in an era where recycling, repurposing, rethinking the use of various items, is given a giant thumbs up.

    So why stop at sprucing up things found at garage sales, estate auctions, or separating things in your trash each week so that paper and plastic and other repurposable items stay out of the dumps…and thus out of the hands of future generations of scavenging archaeologists?
    Categories:
    1. Craft
    2. Workshops
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    Bombarded by Ideas by Becky Martinez & Sue Viders 

        Published: September 19th, 2011  Views: 360 
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    Ideas, we all get them. Sometimes too many come at once. Sometimes when you want that idea, it refuses to come. Ever need to write a blog and your mind goes absolutely blank? Hasn’t that hit us all from time to time? What to do? Look for old ideas that never panned out or blogs you started and never finished? Search frantically for something that you can write about? Sometimes going through those old blogs can stir up a new thought and you’re off to the races with that blog or story.

    Categories:
    1. Writing Life
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    Basics of Male POV by Sascha Illyvich 

        Published: September 19th, 2011  Views: 323 
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    In this brief article I’ll be giving you a few tips on creating characters and writing from the Male POV. These tips are pulled straight from my workshop: Writing from the Male POV and Creating Better Heroes.

    Most of character creation is just voice. Once we figure out back story, physical attributes and the like, we have a basic character with which to work with. That’s generally the easy part but when it comes to voice, women seem to do well once stories hit publication but during that four to six weeks (or longer) it takes to create the first draft, many writers struggle with opposite sex gender writing.

    Categories:
    1. Craft
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    You Want to Write by Robyn DeHart 

        Published: September 19th, 2011  Views: 902 
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    One of the most challenging aspects of becoming a writer is actually writing. It seems like it should be natural. We WANT to write, but actually writing is a whole ‘nother ball of string. Making writing a priority is a must because no matter how many classes you take and how many how-to books you read you can’t learn how to write unless you plant your butt in the chair and put your fingers to keyboard. That’s the big secret, by the way, the secret handshake that new writers want from published writers – you get to be published by writing.

    It’s really that simple.

    Categories:
    1. Craft
    2. Writing Life
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    Savvy Authors Weekly Newsletter - September 19, 2011 

    by
    Dawn McClure
        Published: September 19th, 2011  Views: 161 

    Congratulations to all Savvy Authors!

    Our first congratulations this week goes out to Savvy Authors member Laura Kaye. Her paranormal romance, Forever Freed, dual-finaled in the NJRW Golden Leaf Contest for Published Authors - best paranormal and best first book categories.

    Kelly Whitley sold her paranormal romantic suspense, Into the Red, to MuseItUp Publishing, TBR July 2012. Congratulations, Kelly!
    Categories:
    1. Craft
    2. Industry
    3. Workshops
    4. Research
    5. Writing Life
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    Crafting a Page-Turner by Ezra Barany 

        Published: September 18th, 2011  Views: 289 
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    First and foremost I want to thank the Savvy Authors for allowing me to spin and dance in their well-crafted website. I promise not to break anything.

    By the end of this post, you will learn a deep dark secret about me.

    I just released my first suspense novel, The Torah Codes. Here’s what people are saying about my novel:
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    1. Craft
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    The 3 Levels of Symbolism by Pamela Jaye Smith 

        Published: September 17th, 2011  Views: 697 
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    Much of what makes symbols and images work is their context. Play something up blatantly and it becomes melodrama. The same symbol done subtly becomes drama. Juxtapose it with the unexpected and you can get comedy. All from the same symbol.

    It is depths and layers that make your characters and stories so compelling. Use a symbol one way in the beginning of a heroine’s journey, another way in the middle, and yet again a different way at the end, and you can show in exterior form something about her interior shifts. This can be particularly effective in romances where the man, at first aloof and emotionally unavailable (sometimes even to himself) gradually changes through the influence of your heroine. He’s a different guy by the end of the story and symbols can illustrate that very effectively.
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    1. Craft
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    Historical Accuracy vs. Poetic License by Suzanne Rock 

        Published: September 17th, 2011  Views: 335 
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    How Much Research do you REALLY need?

    It's always a challenge to write a story that has taken place years before you were born. If you haven’t lived in a particular place or a time period, how can you make your story seem authentic? Research needs to be done of course, but how much? Couldn't you just make stuff up or gloss over certain customs or beliefs, since they aren't really relevant to your story?
    Categories:
    1. Craft
    2. Research
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    Seven Tricks to Trick Yourself into Self Discipline by Kate Rothwell 

        Published: September 16th, 2011  Views: 772 
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    I’ve been a writer for about 25 years and for most of those years, I’ve had external deadlines. At first, the deadlines came every day (I worked for papers and magazines). After I moved to fiction, the writing world slowed down.

    Every now and again, my writing life slows so much that all external pressures fade away. I hit a patch when it’s just me and my computer. Editors don’t run and hide when they see my work hit their inboxes, but no one’s yelling at me to get going.
    Categories:
    1. Writing Life
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    Boom Chicka Wow Wow: Crude vs. Classy by Faith Bicknell-Brown 

        Published: September 16th, 2011  Views: 2226 
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    In the twenty-five years I’ve been both an author and an editor, I’ve noticed many changes in publishing. One such change is how the erotic romance market has transformed. Until a dozen or so years ago, the only way a reader could get his or her hands graphic erotica or romance was to buy underground fiction. In the last ten years, I’ve watched the erotic fiction categories explode, but the thing that bothers me is how so many of today’s erotic romance e-books have gone from tasteful, sexy methods of describing insert Tab A into Slot B to boom-chicka-wow-wow scenes straight out of porn movies or men’s sex magazines.
    Categories:
    1. Craft
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    Heroes by Emma Lane 

        Published: September 15th, 2011  Views: 314 
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    Hello all. Thanks for having me here today. I thought I would examine how a few of our favorite Regency heroes are alike and how they are different. Do they all have one characteristic that makes us love them? Is there some magic formula that makes us drool? For strong, handsome heroes, I think of Georgette Heyer who gave us ‘droolable,’ exciting heroes.
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    1. Craft
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    Territorial Rights and How They’re Stopping Some of Your Sales by Nicole Murphy 

        Published: September 15th, 2011  Views: 527 
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    There’s a maxim for authors – hold onto every right that you can. Only license rights to those people who can do something with them.

    A few years ago, it was quite easy to work out who should have what rights. Today, it’s hard and for those of us in Australia, it’s an even more difficult question.

    At least once a week, my Twitter feed lights up with complaints about the unavailability of electronic books in Australia. “We can buy the print copies,” people cry. “Why can’t we buy the electronic copy?”

    Categories:
    1. Industry
    2. Writing Life
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    How to Get Past Stuck Places in Your Plot by Jacqueline Corcoran 

        Published: September 14th, 2011  Views: 955 
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    I am mostly on the side of “pantsing,” which means that I get stuck at frequent junctures when writing my novels. Because I just have some general ideas when I start writing, I soon bog down at the specifics. What has been helpful for me is using “problem-solving,” a technique I teach my graduate students for how to work with clients. I have adapted it for use with my writing. I hope it may be helpful for you, as well!

    Problem-solving involves a series of steps:

    Categories:
    1. Craft
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    Character Flaws—Love ‘em or Hate ‘em? By Em Petrova 

        Published: September 14th, 2011  Views: 454 
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    When most of us start writing, we craft perfect characters—our ideal of beauty, dress and tones of voice fill the pages. Not to mention fabulous cars and ritzy houses. Digging deeper into the psyches of these characters might reveal a loving and supportive family and a great 9-5 job doing what the she/he loves.

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    1. Craft
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