Writing is one of my passions. Another passion is teaching. Primarily, I teach piano and violin lessons. Throughout the years, I have had students that were difficult to teach. It was not because they didn’t have talent or ability—many of these students had a great potential they could have reached. But they would struggle in […]
Best Free Stock Images for Author Graphics
Authors need fabulous, eye-catching graphics to share in their blog posts and on social media. Sometimes, though, even the least expensive image subscription is just not in the budget. Today, I want to share with you a Pinterest board I’ve been creating. It contains all kinds of free writing- and reading-themed stock images. All you […]
10 Tips from NaNoWriMo Veterans
Originally published on PerryElisabethDesign.com My Nano tip is to wrap your mind around the fact that you WILL finish no matter what. The last three years, because I’m always behind by about 30k words, I’ve barely participated in the Thanksgiving festivities in order to ensure that I reach my goal. Three years in a row […]
Blog Tours & Why Blogger Reviewers Are the Best Ever
“Wait, how many people reviewed your book on that blog tour?” A fellow author stared at me—stunned. “Forty. I think. Maybe thirty-nine. Something like that.” I think I got a few blinks. A curious look as if to see if I might be teasing—or lying. I offered to show him the blogroll. People ask me […]
Music for Writing (or How To Survive NaNoWriMo)
NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is upon us (well, not ME because November is a crazy busy month at our house). Sometimes writing a couple thousand words every single day of the month requires creating atmosphere. Writing to music is a great way to increase your word count—whether you’re doing NaNo or not. To that […]
8 Ways to Excite Kids about Writing This November
Guest post by Kate Willis originally published on PerryElisabethDesign.com Contains affiliate links. For most of us, November means turkey, pumpkins, and coming winter; but for a small portion of the population it spells National Novel Writing Month (fondly shortened to NaNoWriMo). These certifiably artistic people commit to writing 50,000 words in 30 days. Hats off to them! […]
All the Beautiful People
I was just musing about something—a tendency I have. (You’ll have to let me know if I’m the only one.) When I was younger, every protagonist I wrote was me. In some (okay, most) ways, it was a version of me or how I wished I was. The girls were always short with dark hair […]
How Can Authors Get Story Ideas from Clickbait Titles? The Answer Will Shock You!
Ahh… clickbait. Those bizarre headlines that are annoyingly intriguing and make you feel like a failure for taking the bait and clicking on them. What if I told you there’s actually a good use for them? Welcome to your new way of coming up with story ideas! Seriously, clickbait titles make the best story prompts! […]
What to Write?
Most writers have a thousand ideas running through their minds. Add to that pile reader expectations. Popular topics. Hot-button issues. Rave eras. Novels, novellas, short stories, articles, anthologies, blog posts. Oh yeah, there are tons of things for a writer to write. I’m near the end of my first-to-be-published novel (Lord willing), so this […]
Confessions of a Notebook Hoarder
Well, folks, it’s been an embarrassing week. Promise you won’t tell anyone? I, um, well… I’ve bought two new notebooks THIS WEEK alone. There, I’ve said it. Feels so good to get that off my chest. The first one was on clearance and has a really nice cover that’s just begging for a Cricut vinyl […]