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How To Chronicle A Crisis
By BookBaby author Michael Gallant Writing in the midst of a pandemic can feel strange and overwhelming. Here are some tips to get you started in your attempts to chronicle this crisis. Greetings from...
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How Can You Become A Better Writer?
By BookBaby author Dawn Field Make a list of your weaknesses, then actively use this knowledge of yourself to improve your writing to become a better writer. Do you skirt around your weaknesses?...
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How Screenplays Differ From Novels
By BookBaby author Burt Weissbourd When developing a screenplay, you look for strong, complex characters, conflict, and emotional intensity. While the same is true for books, there are rules about...
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Use Expressive Words To Build Your Story World
By BookBaby author Dawn Field The marriage of story with detailed, expressive language will help you build a story world that is the heart of great writing. Dawn Field (July 20, 1969 – May 2, 2020) In...
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Before You Write That Fantasy Novel…
By BookBaby author Paul Goat Allen If you are writing a fantasy novel, these five considerations will help put you on the right track to creating a story that will capture readers’ attention. This post...
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Make Readers Stop And Go “Wow!”
By BookBaby author Dawn Field Readers will decide what stands out about your writing, but thinking about creating “Wow!” moments helps you focus on writing them. What makes something so special that it...
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Why Chapter Breaks Are A Really Big Deal
By BookBaby author Dawn Field Take a fresh look at your draft by studying the space between chapters. If your chapter breaks create an unpleasant surprise, you’ve got them in the wrong places. Chapters...
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Your Eight-part Story Check
By BookBaby author Dawn Field A fully-developed manuscript will be rich from beginning to end, from the big to the small. How does yours hold up to this eight-part check? To be considered...
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Dramatic Times Call For A Clear Message
By BookBaby author Michael Gallant Writing about of-the-minute events, politics, and movements can be highly intimidating but deeply necessary. Do the work and make your voice heard. These are strange...
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The Coronavirus: The Elephant In The Room
By BookBaby author Steven Spatz As a writer, what do you do if your book is set in the present, but the Coronavirus pandemic thwarts your story? Adapt? Ignore? It’s a question on a lot of writers’...
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Creating Your Own Rules: How To Build A Story World
By BookBaby author Dawn Field Rules are weighty and can produce some of the most significant sentences you’ll write. They build your story world, immerse your reader, and produce consequences. There...
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Pick The Best Sentences In Your Favorite Books (and try to match the quality)
By BookBaby author Dawn Field What makes a standout sentence to you? Studying works you love can help you focus on writing great sentences that make an impact on your story and your readers. If you are...
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Writing Under Duress
By BookBaby author Michael Gallant Especially during a pandemic, writing often happens under trying conditions. The right strategies can help you manage stress, fatigue, and distractions to move your...
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So Bad, It’s Good
By BookBaby author Dawn Field Reading and writing “broken” text can teach an appreciation of what works — and what doesn’t — when it comes to great writing. If you had to write truly, terribly,...
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Eleven More Ways To Look At Your Story
By BookBaby author Dawn Field Dawn Field (July 20, 1969 – May 2, 2020) In late 2015, Dawn Field submitted her first post to the BookBaby Blog, titled “Eleven Ways To Take A New Look At Your Story.”...
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From Self-Published Book To Indie Film: Booze, Broads, And Blackjack
By BookBaby author Steven Spatz BookBaby author Carl Nicita’s story shows that — with a good story, a good title, a few choice contacts, and some creative promotion — you can achieve your literary...
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How Long Does It Take To Write A Novel?
By BookBaby author Michael Gallant Some authors need weeks, others over a decade, to put their dreams into text. Your timeline to write a novel? Whatever you need it to be. As I described in “The...
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Writing Dystopian Novels In Dystopian Times
By BookBaby author Lee Purcell Given the current environmental and social climate — and the worldwide pandemic — you’d think people would avoid dystopian fiction. Not so… Imagined futures can sometimes...
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Dialogue Tags: When “Said” Doesn’t Say Enough [Infographic]
By BookBaby author Andre Calilhanna While adverbs and passive voice seem to be the primary targets of literary disdain and unchained vitriol, a close third might be the imaginative use of dialogue...
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Is Your Violent Imagery Sublime… Or Sloppy?
By BookBaby author Michael Gallant Whatever your subject matter, be mindful of how, where, and when you evoke violent imagery. Such language can be powerful, but used without care, it signals lazy —...
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