By: Monica Leonelle (This article was originally published on March 2, 2015 on the Sterling and Stone website.) Back in August of 2013, I had to face the facts. I had learned to write very fast (at speeds over 3000 words an hour, under the right conditions), but I still wasnt drafting and publishing much […]
Prose on Fire
Win 30 Storytelling Books and a Bamboo Spark to Nail Your Book
About | Sharing | Instant Gifts | More This month, I’m offering three initiatives to prepare writers for National Novel Writing Month — my 8×8 Challenge, my Let Your Book Flow inspirational quotes for authors, and my course, Finish Your First Book. So I thought “What more can I do?” and came up with a book giveaway —yay! If you’ve been struggling to write […]
The Live 8×8 Challenge Starts October 24th!
If you’ve been wanting to improve (or start) your writing habit, stick with us for 8 minutes of writing per day for 8 days. We’ll be going from now until the 31st of October so if you’re participating in #NaNoWriMo you can go straight into 1,667 words per day starting November 1st. I’ll also be doing […]
Why Masterminds Are Critical To Becoming a Full-Time Author
It’s no secret that I love masterminds. I am currently part of two high-end masterminds that meet in-person twice a year each. I also run an online mastermind to serve those who want to make massive progress on their goals, but have reasons they can’t travel that much—full-time day jobs, young kids, parents they need […]
Best Techniques for Hacking Your Writing
Does this sound familiar? You’re sitting down at your computer ready to write and all you’re doing is staring at a blank screen. We’ve all been there before. You want to write faster, you want to write more often, you want to produce amazing stories. But it isn’t happening. You’re plagued with one of two […]
Write Better Stories with the Smarter Storytelling Framework
So you want to write great stories that instantly connect with your readers, but it’s just not happening? Maybe you’re just starting out and are unsure of how to move people with your story. Or maybe you’ve released several books, but the reviews have been… so-so. Or worse, one-star! I’ve been there too. In 2009 […]
Film Rights, KU Recruiting, and Writing Sprints on the Sell More Books Show
I had the amazing opportunity recently to join my friend, Bryan Cohen, as a co-host on the Sell More Books Show. We discussed industry news, including the question of the week. If you had the opportunity to sell your film rights tomorrow for a small sum, would you sell them or would you hold on […]
Book Plot vs. Character Arc and How To Reconcile the Two (#29)
One of the questions I’m receiving regularly since writing Nail Your Story and creating the Outlining Challenge goes something like this: I have a question about the rough markers for plot plots (25%, 50%, 75%, 90%) etc. Do these percentages apply to the BOOK or to the CHARACTER ARC? That is, if character A is in 8 […]
Write Better, Faster is Now in Audio! Here’s the First Sample
Write Better, Faster is now in audio! I am so happy that my team and our lovely narrator Cindy Pillar have put this audiobook together for you guys. In the past year, I have enjoyed learning via audiobook mainly for its convenience over ebooks—just click play while on-the-go, while driving, while cleaning your house, or […]
8 Books That Will Teach You 95% of What You Need To Write a Kickass Novel
At the beginning of this year, I went on a serious novel craft binge and read or re-read nearly 50 books on the art of storytelling. This month, I’m hosting a giveaway of my very favorite storytelling and craft books—yay! If you’ve been struggling to write your book, or struggling to revise it, enter here to […]