{"id":20,"date":"2016-02-05T02:59:45","date_gmt":"2016-02-05T02:59:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.calla.com\/wordpress2\/?page_id=20"},"modified":"2026-03-15T03:21:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-15T03:21:07","slug":"writing-tips","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.calla.com\/wordpress\/writing-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Writing Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"question<\/a>\n

question about picture books<\/a><\/h4>\n
The other day I had an interesting question via email: \"In your writing tips, you warned against submitting photos or ...
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\"Marsha's<\/a>\n

Marsha’s 5 word rule for dialogue<\/a><\/h4>\n
As a writer, I have found that one of the best ways of getting good feedback on works-in-progress is to ...
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\"what<\/a>\n

what to do if you’re in a writing rut<\/a><\/h4>\n
Are you in a writing rut? Have you tried brainstorming about your main character? This is an exercise I teach ...
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\"Overwriting\"<\/a>\n

Overwriting<\/a><\/h4>\n
I run a private online crit group where participants \"pay\" by giving critiques in order to get them from other ...
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\"A<\/a>\n

A young reader asks how to get published: my answer<\/a><\/h4>\n
Dear xxx, Congratulations on being such an avid reader and writer. That's wonderful! As to the process of having a ...
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\"Three<\/a>\n

Three bad writing habits<\/a><\/h4>\n
There are lots of bad habits that can mess up a manuscript, but here are three that often show up ...
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\"How<\/a>\n

How do you get your ideas?<\/a><\/h4>\n
A reader emailed me today with a question that all writers get asked all the time, but this reader was ...
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\"Writing<\/a>\n

Writing historical fiction<\/a><\/h4>\n
I finished the first draft of Making Bombs For Hitler in February and I\u2019ve gone through two substantive edits since ...
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\"Creating<\/a>\n

Creating realistic characters<\/a><\/h4>\n
Do a brainstorming exercise. Get a piece of paper and write down thenames of the two key players. Ask yourself ...
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