The Writer's 12 Commandments - S. King

Here's a good blog post from an agent regarding "Hooks" that's worth a read.

http://bookendsliterary.com/2019/09/25/definition-of-hook/

A good article on the kinds of content readers look for on author social Internet accounts.

http://bookendsliterary.com/2019/07/18/three-tips-to-content-creation/

How Agents and Editors view revisions - 

http://bookendsliterary.com/2019/07/09/how-editors-and-agents-view-revisions/

Categorizing your book - If you've ever had a hard time figuring out where your book belongs on Bookstore shelf, perhaps you're not going all the way with it in your writing. See this blog post - 

http://bookendsliterary.com/2019/05/21/categorizing-a-unique-novel/

Writer Beware - when a contest is really not a contest but a way to pray on your work for their profit.

https://accrispin.blogspot.com/2019/04/awards-profiteers-how-writers-can.html?fbclid=IwAR0FQYbpsJTIHCPjDbZf1A7WKV1QJXv_sDthl4RA3QRILSMIlEHCfkWTGjA

Why the query letter is important. An agents view of it and what it means to you as an author.

http://bookendsliterary.com/2019/04/25/why-queries-matter/

Repayment of publisher advances. For those of you who may be wondering if you have to pay back an advance - here is an answer from an agent at Bookends.
http://bookendsliterary.com/2019/04/11/paying-back-the-advance/

More on the Query Letter. How this agent and other agents like her operate with query submissions:

http://bookendsliterary.com/2019/03/26/addressing-criticism-on-the-query-process/

Your agent's role. A note worthy article.

http://bookendsliterary.com/2019/03/20/an-agents-role-in-the-editorial-process/

The Query Letter's most important part, spoken by an agent from Bookends. Well worth the read!

http://bookendsliterary.com/2019/02/18/query-blurb/

If you're looking for an agent, here's a good place to start:

http://www.manuscriptwishlist.com/find-agentseditors/search/?wpv-requestor%5B%5D=agent&

Dialogue - 50 things your characters can do while talking to each other

https://www.bryndonovan.com/2015/10/11/writing-dialogue-50-things-your-characters-can-do-while-they-talk/?platform=hootsuite

Another good article to check out:

http://bookendsliterary.com/2019/01/15/the-weight-of-comp-titles/

Here's some guidelines on Query length:

http://bookendsliterary.com/2019/01/17/query-length-requirements/

6 important things to consider when you're writing:

https://www.creativindie.com/the-six-signs-of-weak-writing-how-to-tell-if-your-book sucks/?fbclid=IwAR34op81V3RM1nA9a5MayTfEDCO2qdLWFJRW6ovvmHA5lsujtLFhSiJU6hk

Using Social Media as Marketing for Authors

http://bookendsliterary.com/2019/01/24/social-media-marketing/

Author Advances - Earning them out. Another excellent article from my friends at BookEnds Literary Agency

http://bookendsliterary.com/2019/01/29/earning-out-the-author-advance/

Another good article from BookEnds - formatting your manuscript for submission 

http://bookendsliterary.com/2019/01/31/submission-format/

A good question about older projects you might have submitted, but were passed on by the agent you have engaged on new work.

http://bookendsliterary.com/2019/02/05/older-projects/

I found this website quite by accident and plan on referring to it when I  write my character postures in my work - making sure my my character's  mindset matches up with the body action. 

https://westsidetoastmasters.com/resources/book_of_body_language/chap10.html

Here's an excellent link for creating good grammar in your writing: 

https://www.dailywritingtips.com/7-english-grammar-rules/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

Creating foundations for memorable Characters

Understanding the main character’s goals, motivations and conflicts, are critical. By digging down deep into their characters flaws and strengths authors create people their readers can identify with, care about and root for.

Whether the story is character or plot driven the character(s) will define its success. If the characters are flat , the reader will put the book down and may never come back to it, regardless of how intriguing the plot is. 

Characters are people, and people reveal themselves over time. It’s a simple fact that you can’t know everything about someone at first glance or for that fact, a character, up front. Only when the author is eyeballs deep in their novel do they really begin to understand who they are, and because of that they often find themselves re-evaluating some of the things they had planned on having their characters do and also what they plan on doing to them.

If the author bounces around, picking names, occupations, jobs, etc. out of thin air their characters could likely feel helter-skelter and hard to get to know. Taking the time to choose the hero/heroine and antagonist’s attributes is important because it brings authenticity to them. 

Tools I use when approaching a project that might be useful to you - or not. 

1. My first suggestion is to get yourself a journal at your local bookstore. In this journal you are going to introduce yourself to your hero and heroine and your antagonist. Like anyone we meet, we don’t know everything about them up front. People (your characters) reveal themselves little by little, like peeling an onion. With every layer we remove we get closer to the heart of who they really are: what their goals, their fears, and their dreams are. So get familiar with them and a way to do that is to record your hero/heroine/antagonist’s deepest thoughts and beliefs about the things you’re going to subject them to. The advantage to this is two fold, 

a. one you can use what you write here directly in your WIP if it makes sense to you, and 

b. two, it will mitigate to a great extent your characters hijacking your plot. By hijacking, I mean, your characters resisting what you are asking them to do - sometimes it’s outright mutiny. And you know when that’s happening. You’re writing the scene and no matter how you draft it, you sense something is wrong but you don’t know why. So you either force the scene (which will be telling to the reader) or you go all the way back and fix everything you’ve written to make it right. You don’t want to do that! 

Last of all - let your pantser side out with free rein, recording your characters thoughts and feelings in pen. I suggest using a pen because you don’t want to be tempted to erase and self edit in a journal. Get as sloppy as you want. Then after you’ve finished writing your character's thoughts, sit back and read what you wrote aloud. What is your character telling you?