Happy November! It’s my birthday month, and all my favorite stores have already been making me feel special with an influx of coupons and rewards. If you’d like to do something nice as well, check out my November newsletter, out today, for a list of 10 ways you can support authors. I’d love for you…
Writing
Will Teen Readers Recognize that Movie/TV Show Reference?
Happy October! I hope you’re enjoying the fall. I’m still hard at work revising my current manuscript. It’s taking a bit longer than I expected–probably because of that total restructure. But maybe also because I keep getting distracted. As a result, I’ve been taking another social media break. I’m just popping back on this week…
How I Restructured My Work In Progress Using Save the Cat
Happy September, friends! You may recall a few months ago I talked about tackling a self-edit for my current manuscript. One thing I didn’t get into during those posts is that I had tried something rather ambitious when I drafted the book–and I already knew it might not work. In the first step I mentioned…
Easy Words & Phrases You Can Cut to Tighten Your Manuscript
How’s everyone’s summer going? I just returned from New York with my family, where we filled the week with Broadway shows and all the major tourist attractions you’d expect. It occurred to me on our return home that both of my books have ties to New York. Jenny (Your Life Has Been Delayed) boards a…
How I Self-Edit A First Draft
Happy summer! It’s in full swing here–at least schedule wise. The weather has been unusually cool the past few days thanks to a storm that came through over the weekend, but I expect the heat to return soon. Missouri is notorious for jumping from 60 degrees to 90 in a single week. On Friday, I…
Why I Stop Writing When I Reach My Daily Word Count Goal
Happy April! Spring is in full swing here in Missouri now–and it even feels like it! I took some visiting family downtown to the Gateway Arch yesterday, and it was lovely walking around, soaking in the sun. My April newsletter is out today, with a fun extra for My Second Impression of You readers. It includes a…
Why I Love Writing Out of Order
Who’s ready for spring? I know I am. It may not officially be here yet, but as of the end of the school day, spring break is! I’m so ready. As a result, my March newsletter is out a few days early. In addition to the writing topic here, it also includes a sneak peek…
Don’t Get in a Rut with Your Writing Process
Happy New Year! Remember how I said last month that I always have to know where the story is going to get to the end? I mean, that’s probably still true. But this past month has also reminded me that I should never say I’m always going to do something a certain way, because then…
All About Brainstorming
What’s the first thing you do when you start working on a new project? Do you dive right into writing, do you let the idea simmer, or do you start somewhere else? For me, the starting point is brainstorming, then outlining, with research sort of wrapped into both of those steps. For the writers following…
Revision Tip: Why You Should Read Your Manuscript Aloud
Before I get into today’s topic, I want to mention that my November newsletter is out today, and in particular, I have several events coming up over the next month. I have two signings at St. Louis Barnes & Noble stores, a virtual panel you can tune in to from anywhere, and will be participating…
Publishing Behind the Scenes: Interview with Audiobook Narrator Kimberly Wetherell
The team behind My Second Impression of You has been a true dream, especially because I’ve gotten to know many of the creators and artists working on the book in a way I didn’t with my first book. A few months ago I shared an interview with cover artist Jacqueline Li about her process, and today…
On Binge Watching and Character Development
Hello, my name is Michelle, and I’m a binge watcher. Wait. I’m not sure this is a new confession. I’ve had that line about watching too much TV in my bio for YEARS. Plus, check out this dictionary definition for binge watching: So, what this means is, when I bought those box sets of Buffy the…
Welcome!
Welcome to my blog, where I offer writing tips and share thoughts about reading, my writing journey, and other random stuff. If you subscribe, you’ll also receive news about my books and upcoming events. Check out the categories in the sidebar to narrow down some of my older blog posts, including book reviews, or if you’re a writer pursuing traditional publication, visit my Resources page for more targeted links. If there’s something I haven’t tackled on the blog that you’d like me to address—including questions about my books!—please contact me and I’ll do my best.
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