Category Archives: Reader Feedback

4 Ways to Fix a Boring Story

Posted on October 27, 2020 by Guest Poster

Is your story boring? Would you know or acknowledge it if it was? No one wants to admit that their story is slow, lackluster, or zzzzz. But hey, that’s what critique partners and editors are for. If recent feedback makes … Continue reading →

Posted in Character Arc, Character Flaws, Characters, Conflict, Empathy, Guest Post, Pacing, Reader Feedback, Rejection, Writing Craft | 15 Comments

How to Find Critique Partners & Beta Readers

Posted on February 6, 2020 by Writing Coach

Outside feedback is vital to the success of your manuscript.  As I’ve quoted many times before on my YouTube channel, according to Terry Pratchett, “The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.” Our first drafts are imperfect translations … Continue reading →

Posted in Critique Groups, Critiquing & Critiques, Reader Feedback, Resident Writing Coach, Revision and Editing, Uncategorized, Writing Craft, Writing Groups | 8 Comments

3 Steps To Writing Diverse Characters

Posted on December 17, 2019 by Writing Coach

It’s official … Audiences have voted with their wallets and proved they WANT more diverse characters as standard. Novels lead the way, with breakout successes like Gone Girl and The Hate You Give making huge cultural impacts. Now the screenwriting … Continue reading →

Posted in Backstory, Buying Books, Character Arc, Characters, Cliches, Diversity, Emotion, Reader Feedback, Reader Interest, Reading, Resident Writing Coach, Stereotypes, Story Structure, Tools and Resources, Uncategorized, Writing Craft, Writing Lessons | 10 Comments

Improve Your Novel Writing: 11 Tips For Newbies

Posted on November 14, 2019 by Writing Coach

Writing a novel is flipping difficult. It often takes years to complete your first novel (and even more years after that to write a good one). You heard that right — writers’ first books are usually a hot mess. That … Continue reading →

Posted in Critique Groups, Critiquing & Critiques, Grammar, Pacing, Plotting, Reader Feedback, Reading, Resident Writing Coach, Revision and Editing, Story Structure, Uncategorized, Voice, Writing Craft | 17 Comments

Story Feedback: Free and Paid Options for Writers

Posted on October 15, 2019 by ANGELA ACKERMAN

It’s a sad fact, but most writers don’t have a basement full of money, meaning the word BUDGET is kind of a big deal. We want to publish but to do it, we have to think carefully about where we … Continue reading →

Posted in Agents, Critique Groups, Critiquing & Critiques, Editing Tips, Grammar, Motivational, Publishing and Self Publishing, Reader Feedback, Rejection, Revision and Editing, The Business of Writing, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Diversity in Fiction: Writing the Character You’re Afraid to Write

Posted on October 8, 2019 by Writing Coach

In the last two years, diversity in fiction has become more and more prevalent. We’ve seen blockbuster film and TV hits from award winning books like The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas or Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Diversity, Emotion, Reader Feedback, Resident Writing Coach, Stereotypes, Uncategorized, Writing Craft | 11 Comments

Writing Feedback: Should We Seek It Out?

Posted on September 26, 2019 by ANGELA ACKERMAN

As most of you know, Becca and I have been writing and publishing for some time now. Many thing have changed in the industry, including how a book reaches the shelf. Thankfully the slush pile of doom is no longer … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review, Character Arc, Characters, Critiquing & Critiques, Motivation, One Stop For Writers, Publishing and Self Publishing, Reader Feedback, Reader Interest, Reading, Revision and Editing, Show Don't Tell, Story Structure, Tools and Resources, Uncategorized, Writing Craft, Writing Groups | 4 Comments