For the Criminally Inane

Want to win one of two $50 Amazon gift cards? Click here to go to The Wild Rose Press Instagram Hop where you can follow twenty authors in various genres of romance. Click here . For all rules see the posts. Good luck! htt

It's the middle of the book. You have a smashing beginning. You have a dynamic and surprising ending. But somehow you got lost in the muddle in the middle.  Here are ten ways to boost your creativity. 10. Watch a movie in your genre. Movies can inspire you with twists and turns, characters. Even awful movies can inspire you to do something better. 9. Read a book. When the creative juices in your brain start to flow under the hand of another writers work, you'll start to image things for your book too. 8. Go back and reread the passages that excited you, the ones which inspired you to write it in the first place. 7. Go to a museum, a park, a restaurant and just observe people. Why do they do what they do? 6. Play with children. Kids are uninhibited in their play and ideas. 5. Exercise. I wrote many characters while I was walking. Moving the body moves the brain. 4. Draw. Drawing helps release the right side of the brain. 3. Listen to music. I've found char...

In preparing for this blog post, I reread my notes from a webinar from Jane Freidman on promoting your book.  I think a lot of authors are baffled about how to reach beyond their own sphere of influence and reach untapped audiences. I'm going to list a few ways to use certain social media tools and build a platform. Now with anything, this takes time, it takes work and constant vigilance. I've seen some great progress as I've used some of these tools. This is what I do. Others may disagree. I will also rate their shelf life ie how long you can still get likes, views etc. Facebook Facebook is still my number one go-to for platform. I've had that account the longest. I have the biggest audience still. However, when it comes to book promo, blasting my book on my Facebook feed over and over again may not create sales and in fact, may lose me a few friends. Why? Because everyone who is my friend who wanted to buy my book has already bought my book and just harping ...

Creating is more work than consuming  Ask anyone who creates. A movie can take months of filming with work on costumes, set design, script all before the camera rolls, then there's the editing and special effects, all for a flick that lasts less than two hours. Just watch an Lord of the Rings bonus features and you'll see the colossal effort of many people. Writing is a special kind of creation  While it takes little more than a computer and some ideas--a small investment comparatively speaking--writing does require a whole lot of time. And that's where people get stuck. My best years of writing were when my kids were little, our schedules were more free and no one had to go to school in the morning. I'd write late into the night and let my kids eat cold cereal for breakfast as I pried my eyes open in the wee hours of the morning--around nine a.m.. How to be a Creator Have a vision. Creative beings start with a vision, what they want to accomplish i...