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Susan's Archives From July 2020

Jul 29

Susan Shiney

10 Tips for Binding Your Manuscript

There is so much support about how to outline and write out the first draft of a novel, but what about the several drafts it takes after that to get to the finish line? I have been struggling with getting through the line edits of my novel and am always trying to find ways to bring a sense of play to my process. I remembered seeing a friend with a binded manuscript that she had printed out and I had a sense of joy instead of the usual dread, so I knew I needed to explore it more.

Jul 22

Susan Shiney

Flash Fiction: So, I'm a Gothic Cathedral that Moved to California

I had been wanting to move to California for half a century. The tourists roaming my aisles would always talk about the weather there. They had either just been or were planning to go there next. The cold of Northern France's winters would make my flying buttresses smart like nothing else. A mystical land of warmth all year round for my aging foundations. The Californians that visited me would oogle my age, saying where they came from nothing looked like me, I would be unique.

Jul 15

Susan Shiney

So You Want to Create a Writer’s Circle? - How to Save Yourself Grief

Guest Post by N. M. Browne

Writer – psychological suspense

When life goes to shit – Write a book?

I hadn’t been thinking of it for years… it was more like a random ‘knowing’ that some day I would write a book and I gave it precisely no more thought.

Jul 08

Susan Shiney

7 Reasons to have a Book Club with your Critique Partners

Most writers know it is helpful to have a writing group with critique partners to get feedback. They also might know book clubs are a great way to talk about books with fellow bibliophiles. But, what about a book club with your critique partners? If you are just starting out with a new writing group and are thinking about how to set it up, you may find this helpful as well.

First of all, you might be wondering:

Jul 01

Susan Shiney

50 Ways to Make Writing More Playful

I love writing, but it is very easy for me to turn it into something stressful. I think I do that because I care about it and want to improve. However, it is a very slippery slope turning something that can have a sense of joy into a job. I already have a job, I don't need to turn my life into having two full-time jobs. Writing is a joy that will hopefully turn into something I make a living off of, but never a job.

As I stress over some element of writing or writing around the writing like analysing a book for a writing group or book club, finishing a blog post or newsletter, my husband will say to me, "What are you doing, this is suppose to be fun, remember?" Oh yeah!