Category: Writing Tips
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The power of owning your title
A little over a year ago, we got a new executive director for my department at work. As is always the case when there is new top management, he had grand plans for how to change things. He told us a story about visiting some start up tech company where all the employees were called…
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What to do when your first draft is a huge dumpster fire
With the release of Family Binds just 16 days away, it’s time to start working on book 3 in The Journey Missions series, Thicker Than Blood. In book 3 Crystal, Desi, Justin, Grady, and Tyler are sent to Earth to speak in a military hearing on the benefits of the officer exchange program to try…
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Personality Tests and Characterization
Have you ever taken a personality test? They are one of my side interests and I’ve spent countless hours taking them and researching the different personality types. It really helps me to understand how different people take in information and interact with the world. My favorite resource for this is 16 Personalities which follows the…
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How a Story Changes: A Look Back at the First Draft of Crystal and Flint
I was preparing to speak at a career day a few months ago and was trying to pull together a visual to use to show just how much work goes into getting a book ready for publication. In digging through all the printed drafts I had, I stumbled upon the very first draft for Crystal…
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How to prepare for your first writer conference
Writer conference season will be here before you know it. Though there are writing conferences that take place throughout the year, most of them take place in the spring. If you’ve never attended a conference, I highly recommend it. There is nothing more inspirational than being in a room full of other writers and sharing…
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Self-Publishing Lessons Learned
I had heard ton of tips and tricks on how to self-publish, had even attended a few conferences about it, before I ever decided that was the right path for me. One of the key things I took away from the speakers that was self-publishing is fast and you have to move fast if want…
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First Draft to Final Draft
I found an old flash drive in our safe. On it was an old draft of The Journey Missions: Crystal and Flint. I don’t think it’s the first draft, but it’s dated 2013 so it’s certainly one of the earliest. I skimmed through the document and it’s amazing how the story has transformed. It’s still…
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The Business of Writing
Treat your writing like a business. I’ve heard it at conferences and read it in countless articles, but no one really explains what they mean by that. Sure, it could be just a fancy way of saying take your work seriously, but I think it means a lot more than that. I’ve spent the last…
Holly Ash 