How to write a book? Make it easy for your readers to stay with you

How to write a book. Writing. Fiction. Fiction Writing.
#How to write a book. First rule is don’t knock your readers out of the story.

 

How to write a book? Don’t knock your readers out of the fantasy.

I saw a discussion on a board today about writing, and if it is a big deal to not “knock readers out of a story” with inconsistencies, bad grammar, inexplicable changes in tone, etc. If you want to learn how to write a book, and sell your book,  I think it is a big deal…a huge deal.

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How You Can Optimize your Social Media and Blogging Images with these free tools

 

Images, Social Media, Blogging, How to sell a book, book marketing, book promotion
Optimize your images for Social Media and Blogging with these free tools

 

Confused by all the different image sizes you need for your social media presence? Wish there was a simple tool to create the images you want?

Problem solved! I’m going to keep this simple by highlighting the best sources for both.

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How to Provide Feedback in your Creative Writing Workshop

Provide writing feedback. It is critically important in fiction workshops. This picture shows a chair in a fire. Being critiqued can feel just as uncomfortable.
Getting feedback on your writing can be painful. Worse, it can be counterproductive and demoralizing. Make sure you are providing constructive feedback of the kind you would find helpful.

Learning how to write well is more than just cranking out words in response to creative writing prompts. For instance, I’m sure you have gotten feedback in your fiction writing workshop (or writing studio or writer’s studio, which is the more popular term of the day) on a submission from someone who you thought was a self-serving ass. When it happens, your defenses immediately go up and you stop listening for anything constructive. At that point, it is a wasted exercise for you and the person providing feedback. As a young writer, this is not what you need.

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Best Grammar Checker Poll: Which one is most helpful?

Grammar checker software can be a big help.
Grammar checker software can be a big help whether it is local or online. It is one of your most helpful tools as a writer.

Which are the best Grammar Checkers? Which one is most helpful to you? Do you prefer a Microsoft Word Plug in or something that works online with Chrome, for instance? Do they help your writing craft?

I’m interested in your feedback. And your feedback will guide other writers to the most effective tools.

Vote in the Grammar Checker poll on the next page.

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Clothing Optional: How to protect your identity on Social Media

 

Social Media Security: Staying secure and promoting yourself is a balance
Social Media security settings. As aspiring writers we may learn how to write a novel, but we must also promote our work, so we need Social Media such as Facebook, Twitter, etc. It is dangerous out there, though, so we also need to be careful.

The good folks over at SocialMediaExamier put together a helpful, concise summary of how to configure the security settings at a number of the most popular social media sites (Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest). Before you go there, though, let’s think about what your security settings should be as a writer seeking publicity. Just as there are steps to writing a book, there are steps to staying safe. Obviously you do want to increase your exposure and how often search engines find you (or SEO — Search Engine Optimization — as it is known). You don’t want your bank account emptied, though, so let’s talk about some social media security tips.

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How to Improve Your Writing with Text To Speech (TTS) software. Are you listening (to yourself)?

Text to speech tools will allow you to hear your words, much like singers use speakers directed at themselves for feedback.
Text to speech tools will allow you to hear your words, much like singers use speakers directed at themselves for feedback. There are many things you can do to learn how to write a story and improve your writing craft. Hearing your words will help you write better.

Text to Speech (TTS) software is a surprisingly powerful tool to help you improve your writing. Whether you are writing a book, poetry or a business letter, hearing your words will allow you to perceive your words and sentences in a different way. Reading what you have written is one mental process. Hearing your words is a different process. There are subtle but important differences between the two. Listening to your words will enable you to detect errors and clunky sentences in your writing that you can’t “see” when you read your work. There are Microsoft text to speech tools, but those are not the only ones. Find — and use — one that works for you.

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