12 Ways Not to Start a Novel
How do we start a novel? So much needs to go in an opener. But some openers have been done to death. So here are 12 ways not to start a novel| Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris
How do we start a novel? So much needs to go in an opener. But some openers have been done to death. So here are 12 ways not to start a novel| Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris
by Anne R. Allen If you’re like a lot of authors, you’re starting to feel annoyed at the number of “publicists” filling your email inbox with sugary messages about your brilliant talent. The headers are usually quotes from your Amazon reviews, something like: Fast, Funny, and Fair, Delivering a Twist-filled Mystery…that’s Ignored […]| Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris
Authors are getting tons of flattering emails from "publicists". All generated by AI. They won't make you a bestseller!| Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris
Archives for August 2025| Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris
Terence Stamp visited our blog back in 2012. I was so sad to hear of his death this week. He was one of the greats. And a fine writer, too!| Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris
Archives for June 2025| Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris
by Anne R. Allen I wrote a post three weeks ago about the barrage of spam emails I’ve been getting from scammy publicists, bogus book marketers, and various other con-persons — sometimes 100 a day. I’m still getting them, but luckily a good chunk are captured by my anti-spam elves, now they know what […] The post My Life as an AI Hallucination—Why AI isn’t Always a Scammer’s Best Friend. appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.| Anne R. Allen's Blog… with Ruth Harris
by Anne R. Allen This week I’ve been hit hard by signs that publishing industry bloggers are disappearing into the Substack world of “become a paid subscriber to continue reading this article.” But it’s also obvious the publishing world still needs us! How do I know? This week, I’ve been buried in emails from book […] The post Bloggers Are Still Important to the Publishing World, but They’re Disappearing appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.| Anne R. Allen's Blog… with Ruth Harris
by Debbie Burke Let’s assume most of us who follow Anne’s and Ruth’s blog are not kidnappers, rapists, or murderers. Since we’re not, it can be difficult for us to imagine the mindset of characters who commit heinous crimes. So how can we write multidimensional, memorable villains who have more depth than the cartoonish […] The post How To Drill Inside Your Villain’s Head appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.| Anne R. Allen's Blog… with Ruth Harris
Chekhov's Gun: Writers' don't ignore that gun on the wall! I talk about Chekhov's Gun over at Writers In the Storm this week.| Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris
Writing about writing. Mostly.| Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris
Blogging is old hat now, but it's still a great way for authors to communicate with readers--both established readers and new ones.| Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris
