TL;DR I’m a mentor in the Adult category looking for most genre fiction with an emphasis on science fiction and fantasy. I will also consider horror, steampunk, alternate history, historical, and the NA category. Please do not apply if your manuscript is: Romance (The genre, that is. Romantic subplots are fine!), contemporary, thriller, mystery, epistolary, […]
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Critique Partners And Pitch Wars
I applied to Pitch Wars in 2014, 2015, and 2016. I received zero requests until the last year. That’s when I received one, and that mentor, Judi Lauren, ended up choosing me as her mentee. Sometimes one is all it takes. I made no effort to connect with other Pitch Wars hopefuls in 2014 and 2015. […]
My 2020 Pitch Wars Wish List
TL;DR I’m a mentor in the Adult category looking for genre fiction with an emphasis on science fiction and fantasy. I will also consider thriller, horror, steampunk, alternate history, historical, contemporary, mystery, and the NA category. Please do not apply if your manuscript is: Romance (The genre, that is. Having romance in one of the […]
I’m A 2020 Pitch Wars Mentor!
So I’ve been chosen to mentor in the adult category for the 2020 Pitch Wars contest. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for years, ever since I was a mentee back in 2016. Back then I was a YA writer—my manuscript, which I’ve since trunked, was a YA Horror that over the course of the […]
Prose And Storytelling Are Apples And Oranges
Prose and storytelling are concepts that are too often joined into one word, “writing,” to the detriment of those trying to improve their craft.
On Establishing Need For Your Characters
“Make your characters proactive instead of reactive.” Many writers learn this advice fairly early on. Have your main characters make the decisions and they’ll become much more interesting than those who let the minor characters call the shots (the latter scenario of which is a common pitfall). But how do you make them proactive? You […]
Bridge Update – September of 2019
So I’m 18k words into a new manuscript (roughly 95 pages), and I once again find myself writing about Alaska. I’ve always had a strange fascination with the forests in the Pacific Northwest and any wilderness north of the US-Canada border. I’ve written two manuscripts that feature magic as well as a near-future sci-fi manuscript […]
Over-Expressive Characters Make Me Sigh (Part 2)
I wanted to dig a little more into my previous post about using expressions during character interaction. You can find Part 1 here. Let’s first address why people resort to these expressions in the first place. It’s because they’re taught to show instead of tell, and having your characters shrug and sigh are ways of […]
Over-Expressive Characters Make Me Sigh
His eyebrows wagged. Her eyes narrowed to slits. His brows knitted together, face contorting with a sneer. Her eyes widened. He offered a lopsided grin. Her chin jutted outward and her mouth twisted downward. He sighed. I won’t beat around the bush here; sentences like these make my skin crawl (especially the eyebrow wagging). Not […]
Officially On Submission!
Exciting news from the world of the unpublished writer: my book is officially submitted to editors! This part of publishing is notoriously difficult for people in my position – as soon as a publisher decides they want to publish me, my life will change forever. The dream I set out to accomplish since I was […]
A Bridge From My Mind To Yours 