What the heck is everyone talking about?! This was definitely my first thought when I joined Moms Who Write and other writing groups as a newbie author. Almost every post for the first few months, I would come across a writing acronym I had to Google. If someone asked me a question using an acronym,…
Writing Blurbs (Part 3): Progression
Blurbing, dear friends, is the art of condensing. We’ve talked about what a blurb is and discussed its essential elements. We dove into how to streamline a blurb and build emotional momentum by limiting proper nouns and decluttering our details. What’s left is to discuss is writing blurbs that progress —how to take those minimal details…
Holiday books for families by Moms Who Write
I can still remember the holiday books I read with my family as a child. They were some of my most treasured traditions. We’d curl up near the tree, or spread out amid decorations and wrappings on the carpet. My dad would do his silliest Santa impressions and narrate in deep, nostalgic tones. Holiday books…
Holiday books for adults by Moms Who Write
There’s something magical about settling into a good holiday-themed book. Staking ground in front of a roaring fire or beside a decorated tree. Curling up in a blanket with a fancy mug of hot cocoa. Sure, I love to read cheery and silly tales to my kids. But holiday books for adults are where I…
Writing Blurbs (Part 2): Limiting Details
In the previous post of this series, I emphasized limiting details when writing blurbs. But why do that—and how? How does an author narrow down exactly what to mention, and what to exclude? Limit or eliminate place names The most obvious reason for this is to avoid visual clutter. Especially in fantasy or historical fiction,…
My experience with a pen name
In addition to using a pen name for different genres or to keep your fictional persona separate from your real-life, there are other reasons someone might choose to write under a nom de plume.
Writing Blurbs (Part 1): The Overview
The challenge of writing a blurb for your book is obvious. I mean, how do we tell the story without telling the whole story? That’s why it took us a whole book in the first place, amiright? I don’t think there’s any perfect formula. I suspect there are also some genre-specific tips out there for…
Must-Have Picture Books Written by Our Members!
In case you didn’t know, we have a ton of amazing kid-lit authors in Moms Who Write! If you’re looking to buy a bookish gift for the kiddos this holiday, you’re in the right place. This MWW book list is stocked with spectacular picture books for all ages. Not only that, but every purchase helps…
When it feels like failure
I’m really good at telling other people to give themselves grace. I’ve done so many things that mean so much more than a clean kitchen does. I know that. I understand that. There is a moment, though, where I’ve done a thousand things, but the one thing I ignored just stares me in the face and reminds me that I do not, in fact, have it together.
For the Writer Who Isn’t Writing
I took more than two years off writing around the time I met my husband. As writers, we have busy seasons. Sometimes, we have to shuffle priorities. It doesn’t mean our writing is any less important than it’s always been—but sometimes, something else is just more time-sensitive. Like planning a wedding. Like setting up a…