How True Does My Memoir Have To Be?
Many aspiring memoirists wonder: how true does my memoir have to be? It can be daunting to think about the holes in our memory, the times we disagree with others about what really happened, or the way time has altered our perception. No one wants to become the latest scandal for lying in a memoir!
How Long Should a Book Be?
Writers have a love-hate relationship with word count. It’s one of the necessary evils we deal with to determine if a manuscript meets an acceptable published length. So how long should a book be? Here’s a guide to help you answer.
How to Write a Rhyming Picture Book
When done well, rhyming picture books are snappy, quotable, and fun to read. Children retain the words more easily and begin to identify patterns and sounds: a real treat. The problem? Writing a good rhyming picture book is much trickier than it looks.
Pop Culture References in Fiction
The question of whether to include pop culture references in fiction can be a sticky one, especially for YA authors, whose target audience is often hyper-aware of pop culture trends.
NaNoWriMo: Experimenting in Multiple Genres
It’s time for NaNoWriMo! How do those authors who publish in multiple genres do it? It’s challenging enough to craft a good story in one genre, especially for brand-new writers.
How to Write a Ghost Story
Trick, treat, and keep the thrills and chills alive by learning how to write a ghost story. Here are some tips for crafting a spooky tale that’ll scare the socks off readers this Halloween season.
How to Start a Memoir
Many people wonder how to start a memoir, and if it’s even worth doing. Yes, it is absolutely worth doing. But not every event from your life merits inclusion. You have to be selective. Here’s how …
Episode 35: Gretchen McNeil, YA Horror/Suspense Novelist
Dark YA novelist Gretchen McNeil joins Mary in an episode all about recognizing and executing a good story idea. They discuss the shifting young adult book market and embracing diversity, mastering storytelling structure and the importance of shaping the reader's experience, and the controversial subject of IP development.
The Young Adult Fiction Market with Sara Zarr
Join Mary Kole and Sara Zarr as they talk about the complex realities surrounding publishing and becoming a career author within a rapidly shifting YA and Middle Grade marketplace. Sara Zarr brings insight and personal experiences to surviving the sudden and drastic changes within the YA marketplace.
Who Is My Target Audience?
Thinking about a “target audience” can sound cold and impersonal, especially for writers who are pouring their hearts into a manuscript. After all, it’s not like we’re lining readers up, eyeing the red circles painted on their torsos, and lobbing our books at them. Or are we?
Books to Read: A Fresh TBR with Good Story Book Club
If you’re a book nerd like us, you’re always on the lookout for books to read. Doesn’t matter that the TBR stack is out of control. To stay up to date on fresh new reads, we invite you to join our Good Story Book Club!
Episode 9: Kilby Blades, Romance Author
A conversation with Kilby Blades (author of romance novels such as The Gilded Love series) about self-publishing, writing diverse, feminist characters, and changes the traditional publishing industry needs to make in order to be an inclusive space for writers of color.
Finding Comp Titles
Coming up with the dreaded comp titles for your query letter or elevator pitch doesn’t have to be a chore. Here’s why you need them and how to make looking for them (a little) more fun.
Episode 21: Gabriela Pereira, founder of DIY MFA
Gabriela Pereira discusses her journey to founding DIY MFA, the do-it-yourself alternative to a Masters degree in writing, while living with bipolar disorder. She shares tips about unconventional learning styles, finding a writing community in your backyard, and using storytelling to effectively market your work.
Writing Young Adult Books With Mindy McGinnis
Mindy McGinnis—mystery, suspense, thriller author and dog haver—joins the Good Story Podcast to talk about her upcoming work with James Patterson, book snobbery, and showing characters' humanity.
Breaking Writing Rules
Breaking writing rules might seem like a bold artistic statement, but it could also backfire. Here are some considerations for writers who are inclined to take their projects in a more experimental direction.
Picture Book Voice
Your voice is unique to you. It’s how you talk; the combination of sounds, the words you choose, your sarcasm or humor, etc. Those same idiosyncrasies factor into writing voice. It’s a writer’s stylistic choices, the POV character’s personality, and the audience you’re telling the story to. So, what’s picture book voice?
Creative Nonfiction
Nonfiction gets a bad rap for being dry and dull, but it doesn’t have to be. Many of the same liberties can be taken in creative nonfiction as in fiction. If you have something important to share with the world from your own life, this may be your category. Some literary flair can amp up your story and make it more approachable to your readers.
The Case for Re-Reading
“To me, re-reading my favorite books is like spending time with my best friends. I’d never be satisfied to limit myself to just one experience each with my favorite people.”
― C S Lewis
Violet Prose in writing
Violet prose—an ominous and sometimes confusing term. What is it, and how do we avoid it in our writing? Or … is it really that bad?