CataUniversity | 2010 January

Progress & Challenges

By Alice ⋅ January 28, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment

“Don’t wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.”
~Mark Victor Hansen

Is e-Publishing right for your genre? by Piper Denna

By Alice ⋅ January 27, 2010 ⋅ 5 comments

Which genres really do well as ebooks? In the past, erotica and all its sub-genres sold best in digital format. With thousands of readily available titles available instantly and discreetly, ebooks are the format of choice for readers who want something a bit more stimulating than your average romance.
Today, however, the market is changing. Just [...]

Good Advice

By Alice ⋅ January 25, 2010 ⋅ One comment

“Plotting isn’t like sex, because you can go back and adjust it afterwards. Whether you plan your story beforehand or not, if the climax turns out to be the revelation that the mad professor’s anti-gravity device actually works, you must go back and silently delete all those flying cars buzzing around the city on page [...]

Inspiration

By Alice ⋅ January 25, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment

An absolutely necessary part of a writer’s equipment, almost as necessary as talent, is the ability to stand up under punishment, both the punishment the world hands out and the punishment he inflicts on himself.
Irwin Shaw
This post was submitted by Alice.

Quick Tip: Get Into Their Head

By Alice ⋅ January 22, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment

The next time you’re having trouble with your book try switching POVs. In fact, write a scene from a secondary character’s point of view. You might not use the scene in your finished draft, but I’ll bet you’ll be surprised at what you learn from writing that scene. You see, every character in your story [...]

Advice to Young Writers by Cindy K. Green

By Alice ⋅ January 20, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment

Many thanks to Cindy K. Green for this wonderful post. Learn more about Cindy at www.cindykgreen.com.
I haven’t been a professional writer of fiction for too many years. Non-fiction, sure, as I’m a trained historian. But on the fiction writing front, I still feel like I’m learning something new every day even though by the [...]

War

By Alice ⋅ January 18, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment

To hold a pen is to be at war.
Voltaire
This post was submitted by Alice.

Quick Tip: The Rules Still Apply

By Alice ⋅ January 14, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment

Even though we’re living in an age of technology and email there are still many publishers and agents who only accept paper submissions. One of the first “rules” I ever heard was to make sure your ink is dark, your font basic (Times or Courier here, folks) and your paper, bright white.
A new article in [...]

Making Characters Click: Planning Interpersonal Relationships in Novels by Manda Benson

By Alice ⋅ January 13, 2010 ⋅ 6 comments

Special thanks to Manda Benson for today’s guest post. Visit Manda at http://tangentrine.com.
Have you ever read a romance novel where the relationship felt more like an extended one-night stand, and the characters seemed to have nothing in common asides from initial physical attraction? How about a science-fiction book in which two people trapped in an [...]

Clean House – Spring Cleaning? by Linda Conrad

By Alice ⋅ January 12, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment

Special thanks to Linda Conrad for sharing this article with CataUniversity!
Anyone else addicted to the Clean House show on cable’s Style channel? There’s just something about watching clutter and dirt disappear that does this Virgo’s soul good. I can’t seem to get enough of seeing others find a place for everything. I [...]

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Archive for January, 2010