THE RYW Blog
WRITING, SELLING, AND BALANCING YOUR LIFE
How to make riveting dialogue scenes.
Sometimes, the scene you're writing focuses on an exchange between characters: maybe witty banter, tense negotiation, subtle questioning, some necessary information. Whatever it is, the emphasis is on the dialogue. Unfortunately, even if you've planned the...
How to Beat Imposter Syndrome.
How do you beat Imposter Syndrome? Ever feel like you’re not good enough as a writer, and worse, that perhaps you’ll never be good enough? Almost every writer I know has had Imposter Syndrome: the depressing, anxiety-inducing feeling that I’m going to refer to...
How to Fix your Plot Twists.
The problem with plot twists. Honestly, personally, I have no problem with plot twists. I used be glued to the TV when they ran Twilight Zone marathons on the odd holiday weekend. I watched The Sixth Sense and was blindsided by the ending. Now, in a world where...
How to Write More Natural Dialogue
How do you write natural sounding dialogue? Here are two examples of dialogue: “If I see you again, Mr. Anderson, I promise that the outcome will be far less civil… and you will regret it.” “Get outta here, Jack. Because next time I see you, I swear, I’m...
How to Write Better Villains
Build a better villain! If you’re writing a story with a “villain” – a true antagonist, someone whose goal is ultimately to prevent the protagonist from achieving their goal, either directly or indirectly – then you need to create a villain worth of the role....
How to Find Your Right Readers, Part 3
Finding your Right Readers, part 3... the nitty gritty. You know your brand: what you consistently bring to the table, the intersection of what you love, and what you do well. You also know your Right Readers: the context of where to best find them (genre,...
How to Find your Right Readers, Part 2
You know your author brand. Now what? Remember last week, when we talked about author branding being an introduction? When you introduce yourself to someone, you don’t regurgitate your whole life story in minute detail with footnotes and color commentary. You...
HOW TO FIND YOUR RIGHT READERS, PART 1
I mentioned before that it was more important to find your right readers, rather than appeal to some generic “universal” readership. Turns out a number of you were interested in getting more information about finding your “right readers.” (I’m going to...
How to get your writing career back on track.
Should you turn the ship around? I’m a plotter. While it’s a definition of my writing style, it bleeds over into my life. I like to plan for things when I can. I set goals. I cascade key performance indicators (sort of.) I like having a game plan. I went into...