I’m in my first draft edits for my second book, I Won’t Cry, and at this point I feel like the editing will never be done. I’m always finding new scenes to add, words to take out or change, and something that’s just not right. Do you feel the same way after you’ve written something? […]
Author: Shaquanda Dalton
5 Steps to Creating a Great Antagonist Character
This week on the blog I started a character development theme aimed to help you improve on developing important characters in your novel. In this post I will be sharing my ways to create an antagonist that is believable, realistic, and a genuine threat to your protagonist. Why? Antagonists gives the story conflict and without […]
Find The Time to Research
Writing a novel is hard. A lot harder than it looks to the outside world of people who never tried to write before. There’s plotting, revising, rewriting, rereading, and everything in between. Not to mention making the time to get that first draft done in the first place. One debate about the writing process I […]
7 Tips to Boost Your Writing Career
Your Writing Career Matters If you’re thinking about being serious with your writing career, then check out my 7 tips for making your writing career awesome! 1. Think 3 Steps Ahead No matter what you do, always be ahead of the game. Whether it be your whole career or what you will put out in […]
Why You Should Kill Your Writing Perfectionism Today
Do you suffer from writing perfectionism? Do you stay on a chapter or a paragraph for days, weeks, or even months until that first draft is “perfect”? Well to be fair I think we all find ourselves doing this to some extent. In today’s post, I’ll teach you why it’s important to keep moving on […]
How to Outline A Novel
One of the benefits to outlining is that you will have something to reference to when you have writer’s block or don’t know how to end a scene. When you know where you’re going it’s a lot easier to get there. So here’s how I outline a novel. I’ve written six novels and all have […]
My Favorite Part About Writing
My favorite thing about writing is looking over what I just wrote and realizing how much progress I’ve made. Like hey, an hour ago this wasn’t here and I’ve created something cool. I know that might come off as lame but that’s honestly my favorite part. Seeing how much I wrote gives me encouragement to […]
5 Quick Ways To Finish Your First Draft
Sometimes I feel like the rough draft is the longest stage in the writing-a-book process. It’s all brand new stuff that’s trying to get out of my head at once. Then I realize that sooner I can get the first draft out, the sooner the revision process can begin. But that draft has to be […]
Top 6 Ways to Make Your Characters Believable
You don’t want to write a story and have your characters walking around like a thin slice of cardboard, do you? Here are my top 6 ways to make sure your characters have depth to make them not only believable but enjoyable for your readers. 1. Pain No one’s life is perfect no matter what […]
You Don’t Need an English Degree To Be A Writer
I graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in Spring 2015 and while I was in college I wrote and published 5 books . But I didn’t need my English degree to do it. Why? The world of publishing has long changed. Now, you don’t need to have a publisher publish your book for you in […]