ReBlog | Writing Powerful Scenes: Why Choosing The Right Setting Is So Important | Kobo Writing Life

ReBlog – For me sometimes it’s the words used that make the setting.

---

By Angela Ackerman   Many authors, when in the throes of scene planning, are all about the action. They know who the players are, what they feel, and what needs to happen. With those three big…

Source: Writing Powerful Scenes: Why Choosing The Right Setting Is So Important | Kobo Writing Life

ReBlog – He Said, She Said: Comments on Dialogue in Fiction | Kobo Writing Life

ReBlog – Some say ‘said’ is dead but others say it’s really the only way. I’m on the fence. I’d hate to say I wouldn’t use a style of writing. I think everything has it’s place.

Overall, it’s an interesting article. It covers -ly use and letting the dialogue speak on its own but mainly focuses on using simply ‘said.’

By Nathan Dodge (A slightly different version of this article originally appeared in the eZine Reflection’s Edge) What makes a writer effective in writing fictional dialogue? Why is it that some au…

Source: He Said, She Said: Comments on Dialogue in Fiction | Kobo Writing Life

SaveSave

SaveSave

ReBlog – Word Power: Words To Use Instead of Good (A LOOK) | Kobo Writing Life

ReBlog

---

Do you ever find yourself using the word “good” to describe just about anything? Good weather, good movies, good music, good life, good this, good that…good grief but that can be repetitive. The co…

Source: Word Power: Words To Use Instead of Good (A LOOK) | Kobo Writing Life

ReBlog – Going wide? Absolutely! | Kobo Writing Life

ReBlog

---

By Ethan Jones You have heard the old saying, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” It is cliché, but it is also true. Every financial advisor worth his commission will tell you never to invest …

Source: Going wide? Absolutely! | Kobo Writing Life

ReBlog – Author Name Field | Kobo Writing Life

ReBlog

---

When entering author/contributor names into Kobo Writing Life, you are no longer limited to entering three authors. Now, you can enter up to 50 authors/contributors. By default, the author name is …

Source: Author Name Field | Kobo Writing Life

ReBlog – Tech 101: What Is an ePub? | Kobo Writing Life

ReBlog

---

By Hufsa Tahir What is an ePub file? An ePub file is the digital format of a book used across all eReading devices and apps (Kobo, Nook, Adobe Digital Editions, etc). Amazon devices and apps use a …

Source: Tech 101: What Is an ePub? | Kobo Writing Life

ReBlog – Kobo Writing Life Podcast – Episode 049 – Kate Tilton | Kobo Writing Life

ReBlog

---

Is your work managing the business side of your publishing taking away from your time writing your next book? Are you feeling overwhelmed? It might be time to hire an Author Assistant. In this epis…

Source: Kobo Writing Life Podcast – Episode 049 – Kate Tilton | Kobo Writing Life

ReBlog – The Power of Editing: How the Right Editor Helped One Author Find Her Voice, and Publish Her Book | Kobo Writing Life

ReBlogging

---

By Natasa Lekic, NY Book Editors

Advice columnist K.T. Edwards started working on her first book in 2011. She wanted to write about her own experiences being unlucky in love. While she was comforta…

Source: The Power of Editing: How the Right Editor Helped One Author Find Her Voice, and Publish Her Book | Kobo Writing Life

ReBlog – So you want to sign at an event? Here are some things I’ve learned

ReBlog – I’m so not ready for this but things I need to think about.

By Chelle Bliss

There’s been a lot of buzz about author events recently and I wanted to throw a couple things out there. There are so many misconceptions, unrealistic hopes, and harsh realities that many do not understand.

Here are a few questions I’ve been asked and what I’ve learned thus far.

Am I going to make money at an event?No! Most events are expensive, unless they’re near your hometown and there’s no need to pay for travel expenses. If traveling far from home, the cost of an event can climb quickly.

If you’re an author and expect to make money at an event… think again.

Let me break down the expenses of my last event in Nashville.

Source: So you want to sign at an event? Here are some things I’ve learned | Kobo Writing Life

ReBlog – The Hat-trick: Tools for Revision

 

ReBlog – This is interesting!

by Chris Mandeville

Knife, scissors, chisel, scalpel, jackhammer—I bet you were expecting a plethora of these types of implements in a post about “tools for revision.” After all, revision is all about cutting, honing, tearing apart and re-crafting your words, right?

Well, not exactly.

Though we often use the terms “editing” and “revising” interchangeably, there is a difference. Editing is detail-oriented and involves honing the prose, voice, pacing, and so forth, in which case a tool like a chisel would be an apt reference. But revision is a completely different task requiring completely different tools, the most essential of which is your hat. Let me explain.

First let’s look at the words editing and revision. Edit means “to change,” whereas revision derives from the Latin “revise” which means “to look at again.” So revision is about seeing—or rather re-seeing—your story, not about changing it. It’s about perspective. Objectivity. Re-visioning your story as a whole. This big-picture stuff is essential before attempting the detail-work of editing where you refine your words.

Source: The Hat-trick: Tools for Revision | Kobo Writing Life

ReBlog – How To Use Foreshadowing As A Writing Tool: Part Two

ReBlog – I still need to work on this. Mine is being read wrong.

By Terry Odell

This is the second of a two part article about foreshadowing. If you missed Part One, you can find it here. With­out proper fore­shad­ow­ing, what you’ve got is a deus ex machina. A magical event that appears, implausibly, out of nowhere.

In Lee Child’s Gone Tomorrow, I’m impressed by how he uses every detail. When a fellow passenger rambles on about the different kinds of subway cars in New York, it’s not idle conversation. That tidbit shows up front and center later on. And even the little things, that might not be plot points, such as the origin of the use of “Hello” to answer the phone will appear, letting the reader know that the character was paying attention, too.

Source: How To Use Foreshadowing As A Writing Tool: Part Two | Kobo Writing Life

ReBlog – How To Use Foreshadowing As A Writing Tool: Part One

ReBlog – I’m trying to use foreshadowing. Trying.

By Terry Odell

When you write, you’re likely to be throwing a lot of obstacles in the paths of your characters. You’ll be giving them skills to solve their problems. Whether or not your readers will believe what they’re reading depends, to a great deal, on proper foreshadowing. Without proper foreshadowing, what you’ve got is a deus ex machina. A magical event that appears, implausibly, out of nowhere.

Prepare the reader. Johnny Carson said, “If they buy the premise, they’ll buy the bit.” So, you have to sell the premise early on. You can’t stop to explain a skill set at the height of the action. You have to show the character using those skills (or fears) early on, in a ‘normal’ setting.

Source: How To Use Foreshadowing As A Writing Tool: Part One | Kobo Writing Life

ReBlog – Top Self-Editing Tips from Professional Reedsy Editors

 

By Ricardo Fayet

We all know that writing your novel is hard. It’s just you and the blank page and your endless font of ideas. But once you complete that first draft, you’re not so alone any more; now you’ve got a full manuscript to think about.

Read more here: Top Self-Editing Tips from Professional Reedsy Editors | Kobo Writing Life

ReBlog – How I Doubled My Annual Kobo Sales in 2015

By Cristin Harber

One of my 2015 goals was to rely less on Amazon. They owned over 75% of my market share in 2014, and I wasn’t comfortable with that. So I prioritized Kobo and iBooks for 2015, drafting two distinct marketing plans. Basically, I needed to make the sales needle move substantially without a scary financial investment.

Source: How I Doubled My Annual Kobo Sales in 2015 | Kobo Writing Life

ReBlog – Kobo Writing Life

 

For the month of November, a brave team of Kobo staff joined forces to give NaNoWriMo a shot. We blogged about our efforts throughout the month, then several of us (Mark, Christine, Bessie, Sophia, and Wendy) sat down to chat about our experience. Listen to this week’s episode to hear our roundtable discussion about how Team KoBoWriMo fared in 2015.

Source: Kobo Writing Life Podcast – Episode 047 – KoBoWriMo Roundtable | Kobo Writing Life