Today, I am a developmental editor who helps writers organize their content and finish books, but several years ago, I was in a different situation that you might relate to; my manuscript was in chaos and I didn’t know what to do about it.

If I say “Action story”, do you think of explosions, sword battles and Marvel movies? Do you think “That’s not what I’m writing!” You might be surprised. The Action Story Type isn’t defined by violence. It’s defined by danger.

It can feel vulnerable to create, let alone share your id list, but I promise that it will reconnect you with the joy you felt when you first started writing, before you started guarding yourself from feedback, criticism, and self-doubt.

Let's talk money mindset for writers. I want you to take a look inside your brain and see what's in there. I’m going to give you some tools to unpack your money thoughts and see if they are serving you well.

It can be hard to make time for reflection, especially at the end of the year, when we're hustling to buy presents, make travel plans, et cetera. I invite you to spend just ten minutes in reflection before you jump into planning your writing and marketing goals for 2022.

Are you facing get-togethers that seem more daunting than exciting? Like me, do you need a plan for getting back into the act of social gatherings? I’d like to share some things that helped me in the past and what I’m trying to integrate back into my life in hopes they might help you as well.

Today I’m going to share a method for converting the one-star reviews of your imagination into a valuable tool for dramatically and sometimes comically changing the negative stories you’ve been telling yourself about your work.

At Pages and Platforms, we're authors like you, and we've talked to thousands of other writers over the years. We've gathered some valuable tips and techniques for getting that initial draft completed, and we're offering them here to you.

It truly is time to start strategizing how to get through the dark seasons to come with our creativity and mental health intact. And hopefully, if you and yours stay well, with a completed book and a much stronger author platform.

There are all kinds of readers. And all kinds of writers. And just like the kids who were happy to visit the other playground once in a while, readers don’t mind a little variety. They often seek it.

The trick to growing your author platform and selling more books is building an email list of fans. Truly, it’s your number one book marketing goal. Cue the groans from writers who don’t want to start an email list.

If you feel like you're struggling to talk about your book, you are not alone. Eighty percent of the writers we speak with have a hard time conveying the essence of their book in a concrete, concise way.

Have you ever written a scene that just didn’t work with your overall story, and as much as you tried, you couldn’t figure out why? Do you wonder which scenes to cut and which scenes are missing in your story?

In this article we’ll consider what exposition is. We’ll see why we can’t get rid of it altogether, and we’ll learn how brain science can help us understand when to use it and why. At the end, we’ll be a big step closer to writing novels that glide along on story-rails with the least possible friction.

Writing is work. Work is mundane. Writing is mundane work. This might sound like a bummer, but by putting in mundane, regular work, your skill will increase, your word count will add up. Put in the time, punch the clock, and you will develop as a writer. But how?

Do you love hearing writers talk about their process? I’m a total sucker for any article that promises a look inside the daily writing habits of any successful author. I secretly hope to uncover some tip or trick that will help me get my butt in the chair and help me finish my current work-in-progress.

Why writers do what we do will always be somewhat intangible—something we can’t fully explain. But we’re writers, so we’re damn well going to try.

In this episode, we offer a tiny little slice of what's inside our Story Path course: a discussion of between Rachelle Ramirez and me about the importance of audience emotion and what you can do to help create specific feelings in your audience.

At Pages and Platforms, we know how it feels to want fast and applicable solutions for story challenges. Today, we’re sharing with you one of the most useful tips and tricks we’ve found for helping our clients build, evaluate, and improve their Fantasy stories.

Rachelle Ramirez and Anne Hawley dive into how and why to distill your premise down to its essence.