Writing While the Rice Boils

The Waiting Game: From Writing to Reward-How Long Does It Take?

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie Maxwell Allen) — Wed, 30 May 2012 15:00:00 +0000

I'm enjoying a brief vacation in Breckenridge, Colorado. While I'm gone, here's a "post from the past" about the waiting game we all experience in some way. Have a wonderful week! How long does it...

Free resources for writers with little time and even less money. I scour the web for the best free stuff for writers.

Will you miss Book Expo America? Here's the solution.

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie Maxwell Allen) — Fri, 25 May 2012 16:40:00 +0000

A plane ticket to New York City. Taxi and hotel costs. Meals and a ticket to the Javits Center. It really adds up. But you don't have to worry. This year, you can sample the best of the writers...

Free resources for writers with little time and even less money. I scour the web for the best free stuff for writers.

Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World, by Michael Hyatt

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie Maxwell Allen) — Wed, 23 May 2012 16:41:00 +0000

Here's a book you'll probably want to buy. Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World, by Michael Hyatt. I just did. Why? 1. Because I read Michael Hyatt's blog. Formerly the CEO of Thomas...

Free resources for writers with little time and even less money. I scour the web for the best free stuff for writers.

The Next Step: keep going, even if you hear 'no'.

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie Maxwell Allen) — Mon, 21 May 2012 16:13:00 +0000

I blogged about my pitch to an agent, and about hearing 'send it'. I blogged about actually hitting 'send'. So now it's time to blog about the response. I only had to wait ten days for a response...

Free resources for writers with little time and even less money. I scour the web for the best free stuff for writers.

Don't Miss Brenda Novak's Auction

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie Maxwell Allen) — Wed, 16 May 2012 17:12:00 +0000

Katie and Daniel, staying healthy despite diabetes. If you haven't heard of Brenda Novak's annual Auction for the Cure of Diabetes, you don't want to miss it this year. To raise money for research...

Free resources for writers with little time and even less money. I scour the web for the best free stuff for writers.

Quit Now, So You Can Write

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie Maxwell Allen) — Mon, 14 May 2012 18:36:00 +0000

This is a Facebook post from my friend Angela Giles Klocke. When I saw it this morning, I realized how many of us come to this point and are better for it. Have you ever quit writing? Endured too...

Free resources for writers with little time and even less money. I scour the web for the best free stuff for writers.

Researching Your Novel With Maps

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie Maxwell Allen) — Fri, 11 May 2012 17:28:00 +0000

Some of us write historical fiction, while others, like myself, write fantasy set in historical places. Still others write contemporary fiction, or stories set in the near future. No matter where...

Free resources for writers with little time and even less money. I scour the web for the best free stuff for writers.

Book Review: Let's Get Digital, by David Gaughran

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie Maxwell Allen) — Wed, 09 May 2012 17:26:00 +0000

Yesterday, while browsing Pixel of Ink, the website that keeps me up to date on free Kindle books, I saw Let's Get Digital, by David Gaughran. The subtitle intrigued me: How to self-publish and why...

Free resources for writers with little time and even less money. I scour the web for the best free stuff for writers.

Shelf Unbound: Free Magazine for Writers

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie Maxwell Allen) — Mon, 07 May 2012 17:04:00 +0000

Well, another snowy day at my mountain home. Yesterday it was in the 70s, and today we've got several inches of snow on the ground. Spring should resume again tomorrow. It's been an amazingly...

Free resources for writers with little time and even less money. I scour the web for the best free stuff for writers.

The Aftermath of 'Send It'

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie Maxwell Allen) — Fri, 04 May 2012 17:34:00 +0000

This isn't the first time I've heard 'send it'. But it's the first time I actually did send it (see here for why I didn't before). I've been thinking this week about how differently I looked at my...

Free resources for writers with little time and even less money. I scour the web for the best free stuff for writers.

Book Review: Wish You Were Here, by Beth Vogt

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie Maxwell Allen) — Wed, 02 May 2012 16:48:00 +0000

There are people you learn a little from, and there are people you learn a lot from. For me, Beth Vogt is in the second category. When I was just starting out in fiction writing a few years ago,...

Free resources for writers with little time and even less money. I scour the web for the best free stuff for writers.

Pick a Flavor: Three Ways to Plot Your Novel

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie Maxwell Allen) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:25:00 +0000

Just as each of us lean toward a particular flavor of ice cream (or none at all), so it is with plotting our novels. You may just write freely, with no forethought, or develop pages of outlines....

Free resources for writers with little time and even less money. I scour the web for the best free stuff for writers.

The Power of Memoir: how it can enrich your novel

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie Maxwell Allen) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 16:08:00 +0000

Photos by Howard Lau Last night I had the wonderful experience of watching three of my children perform in the musical, The King and I. My daughter Emily, played the part of Anna Leonowens, an...

Free resources for writers with little time and even less money. I scour the web for the best free stuff for writers.

21st Century Inspiration from Donald Maass

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie Maxwell Allen) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:59:00 +0000

As promised here are some highlights of Donald Maass' keynote speech from the 2012 Pikes Peak Writers Conference. This is what agent Weronika Janczuk tweeted after his talk: Maass gave three...

Free resources for writers with little time and even less money. I scour the web for the best free stuff for writers.

Writing Conference Recap

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie Maxwell Allen) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:09:00 +0000

Well. I'm home from the Pikes Peak Writers Conference. Four full days of workshops, learning, and volunteering has left me a little on the tired side. But I wanted to give you an idea of how...

Free resources for writers with little time and even less money. I scour the web for the best free stuff for writers.

More on what to bring to a writing conference

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie Maxwell Allen) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Here's a round up of posts on being ready for your next writing conference. I'm a the Pikes Peak Writing Conference right now, so these are the things on my mind! I'll try to take good notes so I can...

Free resources for writers with little time and even less money. I scour the web for the best free stuff for writers.

Writing Conference Preparation

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie Maxwell Allen) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 19:09:00 +0000

Tomorrow's the big day. The first day of the Pikes Peak Writer's Conference. Thankfully, I'm home today, and have a little time to get everything ready. I thought it might be a good idea to record...

Free resources for writers with little time and even less money. I scour the web for the best free stuff for writers.

Q&A with . . . me!

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie Maxwell Allen) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 19:28:00 +0000

I've never done one of these Q&A blog themes, but since I'm running around today between errands and doctor appointments, I thought I'd give it a try. I was tagged by the fabulous Evangeline...

Free resources for writers with little time and even less money. I scour the web for the best free stuff for writers.

Agent Friday: Amanda Luedecke

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie Maxwell Allen) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 17:57:00 +0000

I haven't done an Agent Friday post in a while, mostly because I ran out of blogging agents. I was looking into Amanda Luedecke, a new agent with MacGregor Literary, since she'll be attending the...

Free resources for writers with little time and even less money. I scour the web for the best free stuff for writers.

How to Write Fight Scenes

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie Maxwell Allen) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 16:43:00 +0000

Let's face it. Conflict abounds in the world. Whether your world is a faraway planet's moon, a medieval dungeon, or the coffee shop around the corner. And many conflicts escalate into fists and...

Free resources for writers with little time and even less money. I scour the web for the best free stuff for writers.

How To Keep Track of the Business of Writing

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie Maxwell Allen) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 15:06:00 +0000

Tax Day is almost here, at least in the U.S., but it has me thinking. The year is not too far gone to keep better track of my business for next year. It doesn't matter that I haven't made much in...

Free resources for writers with little time and even less money. I scour the web for the best free stuff for writers.

Deadline vs. Freedom: Becoming a writing professional

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie Maxwell Allen) — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 15:37:00 +0000

I'm finishing the last chapters of my novel, and I've given myself a deadline. It's far different from the days when I meandered through the week, writing when and if I felt like it. I was always...

Free resources for writers with little time and even less money. I scour the web for the best free stuff for writers.

Getting ready to pitch your book? Check this out first.

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie Maxwell Allen) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 16:33:00 +0000

In my email this morning was a confirmation that in two weeks I'll be pitching my book to agent Kristin Nelson. Besides polishing my manuscript, I'll be practicing my pitch. So I went back to this...

Free resources for writers with little time and even less money. I scour the web for the best free stuff for writers.

Got Ten Minutes? Apply for a $1000 Grant

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie Maxwell Allen) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 20:22:00 +0000

Don't you wish someone would come along, believe in your idea, and write a check to help make it a reality? Well, check out The Awesome Foundation. Every month, the organization gives out one...

Free resources for writers with little time and even less money. I scour the web for the best free stuff for writers.

Searching for Betas? Check Out Ten Day Book Club

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie Maxwell Allen) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 17:31:00 +0000

If you've revised and edited your manuscript, and your critique group has worked it over, it's probably time to get some feedback from folks who haven't been examining it through a microscopic lens....

Free resources for writers with little time and even less money. I scour the web for the best free stuff for writers.