So, among the things I have done this morning that don’t include writing: Tweeting, Facebooking, Scrabbling, Scrambling, updating my blog, and surfing through various gossip/entertainment forums in search of…what? Distraction? Yes, distraction. The one thing that I haven’t yet done today? Write. Despite the fact that I have a 1k (minimum) self-imposed word count per [...]

One of the most often asked and most annoying questions for writers is ‘Where do you get your ideas from?’ My answer depends on the circumstances. If the questioner is, say, a talented twelve-year-old, I explain how everyday experiences can provide fodder for the writer’s imagination, and how the more widely a person reads, [...]

Today we welcome guest Laura Cross to Writer Unboxed. Laura, an author, editor and writing coach, is the author of a new book — The Complete Guide To Hiring A Literary Agent: Everything You Need To Know To Become Successfully Published. We’re happy she’s with us today to discuss something every writer wants to know [...]

I had some exciting news this month.  A quote given to me by the lovely Michelle Moran prompted the higher echelons at my publishers to take a look at the forthcoming second book of my trilogy, Dark Moon of Avalon, and decide to give it more publicity build up than had previously been budgeted for.  [...]

The publishing blogosphere has lately been ablaze with posts about ebooks and ebook pricing. A contingent of ebook consumers are crowing that, in light of the recent Amazon/Macmillan standoff and pricing precedent that was set, ebook prices will shoot through the roof. They recently attempted character assassination using a deplorable 1-star Amazon review campaign on [...]

Therese blogged about ways to jumpstart your creativity. The subject has been on my mind a lot, because I’ve spent the past month overhauling my office. It’s a great, if ordinary, space–a bedroom upstairs overlooking the street and a view of Pikes Peak and the entire Front Range, which changes daily with light [...]

Wow! We already have a few applicants for the Unpublished Writer spot here at WU. Please remember to include a sample post with your answers to our questions and send everything to writerunboxed.
Back to today’s regularly scheduled post…
So I’ve just unsnarled myself from a vicious plot-block. I knew the bones were there; I was missing [...]

We’ve been overwhelmed and touched with the response to our call for a new contributor, one who’ll be our voice for the Unpublished Writer, and we’re excited about adding a new member to the WU family! Our plan is to bring one new person in as a permanent member–someone who’d blog with us once monthly. [...]

Tonight is the night! Carleen Brice’s lauded debut novel, Orange Mint and Honey, was purchased by Lifetime Movie Network and has been transformed into a made-for-TV movie for the network called Sins of the Mother. [Read our interview with Carleen here.] Check out the trailer here, and be sure to tune in to the Lifetime [...]

I recently read this advice telling fiction writers not to worry (initially) about online presence or platform.
I run across this advice frequently—and I used to offer up some version of it, e.g., focus on perfecting your work first before you jump into submitting.
While I still believe that to some extent, this view can set [...]

One of the many approaches I’m trying in order to build an audience for my novel, The Vampire Kitty-cat Chronicles, is doing the whole novel as free podcasts, one per chapter, 26 in all. Here’s how I I’m going about it, and the tools I use. The first podcast in the series is at the [...]

So I am less than four months away from the publication of my next novel, The One That I Want. There’s been major progress since my last post here at Writer Unboxed: my galleys – aka, ARCs, which are uncorrected proofs of the book (essentially paperbacks with some errors in them) are out into the [...]