Writer Unboxed

For me, it’s character development. Interesting characters, those that are different, unusual, flawed: those are the ones I remember. I love reading about people who shine, who stand out from the literary pack. By shine, I don’t mean perfection. Flaws make or break the character. I remember reading one manuscript when I was judging a [...]

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So I’ve finally released an eBook that’s gaining some modest traction. It’s called the little book of SITCOM, and since you’ve been looking over my shoulder for the past year or so as I’ve tried to start a fire in this little self-publishing model of mine, I thought I’d share both the story of how [...]

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I truly believe that this is a great time to be a writer. There’s so much concern, it seems to me, about the state of publishing–bookstores closing or stocking fewer and fewer books, publishing houses not accepting new submissions, or not supporting the authors they’ve already signed, or offering far lower advances than they once [...]

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At some point in your career, you may write something that offends. That’s the nature of the job. But don’t feel that you must choose the safe course for fear of running aground. The beauty of fiction is that we can explore dark themes to our heart’s content — without anyone ever getting hurt for [...]

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Update: Congratulations to Mari Passananti, winner of Christina’s book! Therese here. Today’s guest is the original Writer Mama, Christina Katz, author of three books for writers, including The Writer’s Workout: 366 Tips, Tasks & Techniques, out in print as of this past Tuesday. The Writer’s Workout joins Get Known Before the Book Deal and Writer Mama [...]

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Therese here. Today’s guest is here to offer a crash course in reaching out to others for help with your writing. Writing coach Rochelle Y. Melander is the author of ten books, including her latest, Write-A-Thon: Write Your Book in 26 Days (And Live to Tell About It)–something many of you may be able to [...]

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Therese here. Today’s guest is Krissy Brady, who’s here to introduce us to a book that, to me, sounds like the secret every writer needs to know–Uncertainty: Turning Fear and Doubt into Fuel for Brilliance by Jonathan Fields. Recently, Krissy talked up the book on the WU Facebook forum, and it made me want to [...]

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Therese here. I’m so happy to present today’s guest to you, Marilyn Brant, who’s here to tell us about her experience in making setting pertinent to character growth. Marilyn’s third novel, A Summer in Europe, was just released this past Tuesday. If you love books that plunge you into place, know that Marilyn is a [...]

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I signed up for NaNoWriMo for the first time this year. It was more of an experiment than anything, though I had two good reasons for wanting to ditch my usual work practices for the month and concentrate on getting as many words down on the page as possible. Firstly, I was presenting a pair [...]

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from Barbara O’Neal:  I am delighted to have had the chance to interview my friend Barbara Freethy, who has experienced a truly astonishing trajectory as an Indie publisher this year. A traditionally published author for two decades, Barbara started experimenting with indie publishing late last year. Listen in as she talks about her journey, her [...]

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Recently I was a guest at the seventh Big Sky Readers and Writers Festival, hosted by the City of Geraldton. Geraldton is a country centre situated about four hours’ drive north of Perth, Western Australia. This small city built around a deep water harbour is home to a substantial fishing industry and serves as a regional hub [...]

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It began when we–Therese and Kath–were together on a long car ride. Maybe it was the result of too much caffeine. Or the fact that since starting and growing Writer Unboxed into a successful online community for writers, we’d been mulling over finding a way to bring a stronger component spotlighting readers but without losing [...]

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