THE EDITOR DEVIL

2026-06-01T13:59:56.247-07:00

You'll find me in 2026 at...2) Killer Nashville (August) https://www.killernashville.com/scheduleFriday Breakfast Keynote SpeakerThursday Master Class "Buffing & Polishing: The Art of the Rewrite"Sunday Breakout Session 5 Key Relationships Your Main Character Must Have 3) Central Coast Writers Conference (September) https://www.cuesta.edu/writers-conference/

The Key Ingredient in Your First 50 Pages

2017-09-20T14:01:00.003-07:00

www.amzn.com/B007PTQKXA In honor of my tried and true First 50 Pages Workshop that I taught many moons ago, here's an excerpt to help you hone your hero/heroine... The Key Ingredient in Your First 50 Pages The key ingredients that you must include in those first 50 pages to wow even your toughest readers is...a hero and/or heroine who

2 Techniques for Writing Stronger Hooks

2016-08-30T13:13:00.000-07:00

*random squirrel as example of something unexpected How you end your work counts as much as how you start the work. Your story's first impression (including the hook) determines whether or not the reader will continue past page one. The last impression determines whether or not they'll buy more of your work. A good hook isn't enough to drive

Hook Your Reader Hard and Fast

2016-06-16T12:38:00.002-07:00

Let's talk about story Hooks, since everyone struggles to write these effectively. Regardless of your genre, a good way to start a story is to reveal a situation that is about to explode. Most books start on the brink of catastrophe or a character's catharsis (read “awakening”). Events are literally about to go wrong, and your readers are going to have to witness the devastation and

Give Supporting Characters Time to Grow

2016-06-06T15:53:00.000-07:00

Many authors like to come on strong with secondary characters. Like it’s an art they want to show they’ve mastered. Yes, you should come on strong with all characters by creating memorable details, but don’t deliver an information dump that halts the story's pacing for a character that doesn't matter as much as the hero/heroine/villain. Just as with main character introductions, sprinkle

What NOT to Write in Your Story Opening

2016-05-24T10:30:00.002-07:00

Writers, you need to wow the reader from page one, especially if you are trying to get an agent or editor in traditional publishing. So here are a few tips of what NOT to do in your opening. Never start your story with: 1. The "to be" verb variations: what a waste of space. If you can avoid the "he was"/"there are" constructions, please do. There are myriad verbs out there--strong,

3 Tips to Boost Your Story's Opening Lines

2016-05-19T14:07:00.003-07:00

In my First 50 Pages class today, I shared 3 tips that students could use to boost the opening lines of their novels: 1. Leverage your verbs! Language matters in your opener, and if you choose strong verbs, your other language choices will follow naturally from there to paint both your story and your character with more creative flair. For example: If you have a character

My First 50 Pages Class Returns!

2016-05-12T11:44:00.000-07:00

My First 50 Pages class is finally back on the calendar! I've taught a lot of conferences, and yet I still see students making the same obvious mistakes in their opening pages. Most of these mistakes are avoidable. Unfortunately, agents/editors/judges assume from such mistakes that the author is a newbie or untalented, when in fact the author's story as a whole might be

Using Dialogue to Build Character Development

2016-05-05T11:12:00.004-07:00

Here is an encore post from my character development book: Characterization is the painting of a character in a story through narrative, dialogue and action. Done well, the character will come to life on the page as if they are a real person. Done poorly, and the author has succeeded in creating cardboard. And the reader will never forget it. As Noah Lukeman puts it in his book The Plot

Make Your Writing Rule!

2016-04-15T14:25:00.002-07:00

Nobody likes to be bound by rules. As The Editor Devil, I especially hate rules. But the rules of scene building help you better meet the goals of storytelling. Here are a few that help you move the story forward not backward, show not tell, and entertain not bore your reader. Rule #1: Each scene in your manuscript should move a story forward, even if it’s moving your characters backwards

Are Boxed Sets Done?

2015-05-26T13:35:00.000-07:00

Creating the Boxed Set LOVE DOWN UNDER by Rosalind James A little background: LOVE DOWN UNDER (Eight New Zealand & Australian Feel-Good Beach Romances), went up for sale on all outlets on May 20, and, one day later, has reached the 300s overall on Amazon US, the 100s overall on Barnes & Noble, and the 100s in Romance on iBooks. Not too bad!

Reaching Goals & Helping Friends

2015-05-18T13:04:00.001-07:00

Passion & Danger on sale at http://amzn.com/B00VZ8XL48 My main goal this year was to set new goals. Some lofty, some simple, but new and fresh and therefore more exciting to work towards. 1) My first goal was to reboot my career as a writer/editor, now that my schedule is free to return to work. Check! 2) My second goal was to get book 2 of my Goliath trilogy out the door,

Show, Don't Tell... And why Scene-style Writing is More Effective

2014-01-21T14:25:00.000-08:00

Happy 2014, and sorry to have been absent so long. Working on book two of my series and building our other blog (www.BeachReadAuthors.blogspot.com)... I've missed the lively editing discussions we had here, so I'm going to use my ideas spurred from my current class, Sensational Scenes (which is open for enrollment thru 1/24 http://ce.savvyauthors.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=

Remember to Fact Check Story Details!

2013-07-29T13:15:00.002-07:00

Everyone loves a story told with rich details. Even I say that a story has to be 80-90% factual to be believable. The other 10-20% gives room for "fiction", or the made up part. But lately I've been thrown out of stories by physical details not in line with reality. They were innocent, but made the reader blink. In baseball terms, they would be counted as errors--which means they were avoidable.

Secrets of the Smirking Editor

2013-07-04T14:25:00.000-07:00

Welcome, Eilis Flynn, who's here to give her insight into how editors think and operate based on her years of vast, colorful experience working as both an author AND an editor. She's also arranged a sponsorship from Grammarly for her post and is offering a $15 Amazon gift card for one lucky person who comments on this post (see details below). Take it away, Eilis... “I used

From Corporate Editor to Indie-published Historical Women's Fiction Author

2013-04-18T12:40:00.002-07:00

UPDATE: Lisa is giving away her book to one lucky winner who leaves a comment...winners chosen randomly of course, but be sure to leave your email address :) Today we have a guest interview with award-winning author, Lisa Costantino, who's recently published her debut women's historical fiction book, Maiden's Veil. As an editor and an author, Lisa faced the challenge of striving

Top 10 Marketing No’s-No’s for Authors

2013-04-15T13:41:00.002-07:00

Today's guest post comes from the formidable marketing team of C. Morgan Kennedy and Therese Patrick, who offer great tips and tricks on building your brand and book promotion at http://www.authormarketing101.com/. When they taught at the Emerald City Writers Conference last year, they offered a truly effective workshop on building a author marketing plan, from web site to attending

More Lessons from Indie Publishing

2013-02-05T15:37:00.001-08:00

Since this is my birthday week (Wed, FEB 6 is my bday), I decided to share what I've learned in the last year since publishing four books as an indie author. 1) Getting READY to be published definitely took a village. I couldn't be where I am without my husband, who's supporting us financially, and my critique group partners, who helped whip my books into shape and whipped me when I got out

Find Joy & Balance for Christmas

2012-12-25T00:22:00.001-08:00

Today we have a special guest for Christmas Day... my friend and writing critique partner, Kim Hornsby, who is one of the most effervescent, fun, creative, determined and inspiring people I know. She's been an art teacher in elementary schools, a singer who opened for famous muscians, an actress, a dive instructor, and a loyal and true friend to me for several years! Kim's also a working

Welcome to a Birthday Bash!

2012-12-19T08:30:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday, Amber Kallyn, and thanks for making us apart of your giveaway extravaganza and this great chain of authors (see list below). Take it away, Amber... Welcome to Amber Kallyn’s Birthday Bash. We’ve got some great giveaways for you to win! I love the holidays, but not necessarily having my birthday fall smack dab in the middle of them, LOL. But this year, I’d like to do

Combining Dreams & Research to Write Historical Fiction

2012-12-01T21:07:00.000-08:00

Please welcome Anna Brentwood, who is sharing with us her the path toward her dream-inspired 1920's historical novel with lots of gangsters, action and details of a long-lost era. Take it away, Anna.... MAKING HER DREAMS A REALITY ‘The Songbird with Sapphire Eyes’ came to me in a sequence of three very detailed and realistic dreams, so in a sense, I didn’t choose the story or the time

Writing Historical vs. Contemporary Fiction

2012-11-04T12:12:00.002-08:00

Today we're honored to host award-winning author of contemporary western fiction, Paty Jager, who'll be sharing insights on writing historical vs. contemporary fiction. Please comment on Paty's post for a chance to win a prize and to show your thanks. Take it away, Paty.... Thank you for having me here today, Christine. Giveaway This is the first day of a two week blog tour. I love

Creating Sexy Alpha Heroes in/out of Uniform

2012-10-01T13:25:00.001-07:00

Today I'm discussing how to create a SEXY ALPHA HERO in uniform at http://sharonhamiltonauthor.blogspot.com/2012/10/christine-fairchild-sexyu-hero-out-of.html. Or, in the case of my Romantic Suspense character, Sam, a sexy hero OUT of uniform. So visit author Sharon Hamilton's blog and leave a comment for a chance to win An Eye For Danger and my Editor Devil Guides. She's the author of military

Self-Publishing, a Work in Progress

2012-09-18T13:31:00.000-07:00

Please welcome our guest blogger, Claudia Alexander, Ph.D., who studies the planets and flies spacecraft by day at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. By night she re-imagines the universe. She has served as a project leader on historic space missions to Jupiter (Galileo), Saturn (Cassini), and comets (Rosetta). She has written a number of steampunk short stories and a full-length elf-punk novel.