Every writer needs a few useful tools tucked away. Here you’ll find resources, templates, writing tips, and links I’ve picked up along the way, from navigating the query trenches to keeping track of characters, plots, and the many moving pieces of a manuscript.
Take what’s useful, make it your own, and keep writing. We’re all figuring it out one page at a time.
Querying
Link to the Official Manuscript Wish List
Writing
Tips I’ve Collected Over the Years
- Start with a skeleton draft. Layer in the details later.
- Write your synopsis as an outline. Include the spoilers.
- Read. You will be a better writer.
- Everybody is a suspect.
- Keep a note on your desk that says, “But how do they feel?”
- Bring your scenes to life. Add some of the five senses.
- Keep a “Graveyard File” for scenes that aren’t working. Cut them from the manuscript, but save them somewhere else. You might resurrect them later.
