Novels & Nooks

My book club consists of ✌️🐶

When your neck hurts from looking down and reading too long 😅

How To Critique Other Writers . . . This is a topic I struggle with myself! Sometimes I get so hung up on line edits that I’m missing the most important part-THE STORY!

In this video, Brooke gives tips on how to work with a writing critique partner.

How To Critique Another Writer's Work Wondering how to critique another writer's work? You're not the first! Beta reading is essential in everyone's author journey (in my opinion). When you know ...

Theme can be tricky to get right. Push too hard, and you risk annoying the reader. Don’t have a theme at all, and the story can feel undeveloped. Let me help you strike the right balance! In this video, I’ll teach you how to add theme elements to your story without the reader knowing it’s there.

Theme Creative Writing | How To Add Theme To Your Novel This is Theme Creative Writing! Today Karlie teaches how to add Theme to your story. Whether you like to let your theme develop on its own, or if you like to...

New video on picking comparable titles for your novel!

A good question to ask yourself is, what is my book comparable to? This can take some time to figure out, and that’s okay. Writing is rarely easy. Knowing what books/movies are comparable to your novel can help with A LOT of things like 👇

1. You’ll have a better idea who your target audience is and who your potential readers will be.
2. You’ll know what overall mood/tone you want your story to have.
3. You can research more books/movies in your genre to know the tropes and know how to make your novel stand out.
4. You’ll have an easier time explaining to people what your book is like.
5. Most agents want to know what your book is comparable to, so you can include it in your query letter!

Choosing A Comp Title For Your Novel | Five Easy Steps Choosing a comp title for your novel can feel overwhelming. In this video, I’ll give you tips on finding the right comparable title for your book!Knowing wha...

New YouTube Video On Sensitivity Readers‼️

Learn what Brooke discovered on her publishing journey, especially what she experienced in her search for sensitivity readers.

If you’re an indie author or even looking for traditional representation, you’d benefit from hearing why Brooke chose to seek out a professional sensitivity reader.

Brooke also talks about what she’d do differently when she publishes her next book!

When To Use A Sensitivity Reader | My Publishing Story Are you wondering when to use a sensitivity reader for your novel? You're not the first. Let me tell you my publishing story, what happened, why I thought I ...

Welcome back for part 2 of our interview with the fabulous , author of ON WINGS OF ASH AND DUST! Last week she talked about writing a serial series. In today’s video, we discuss marketing strategies for a serial series as well as book launch ideas for authors just starting out. There’s so much good info here! You won’t want to miss it! ♥️

How Rapid Releasing A Serial Series Keeps Your Readers Eager For More! With Brittany Wang In this video Karlie and Brooke discuss rapid releasing a serial series with Brittany Wang, YouTuber and author of ON WINGS OF ASH AND DUST. You won't want t...

🗯💬💭I finally had an excuse to use these dialogue emoji‘s—and I wasn’t going to waste it, haha!

🎥 Anyway, a new video on HOW TO WRITE NATURAL SOUNDING DIALOGUE is up now on YouTube!

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Bonus Dialogue Tips👇

• Good dialogue isn't weighed down by exposition. It has a purpose and builds toward something. It should reveal your character's personality and sound unique to their voice.

6 Dialogue Tips:

1. Cut the small talk. Keep your dialogue tight and impactful.
2. Give your characters’ a unique voice and stay consistent.
3. Read your dialogue out loud.
4. Don’t use dialogue to review what’s already happened.
5. Use dialogue to reveal more than what’s being said. Example: Use body language or certain words when the character is hiding something.
6. Use contractions when possible.

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How to Write Natural Sounding Dialogue In a Book In this video, Karlie will teach you how to write natural sounding dialogue in your book! Good dialogue isn't weighed down by exposition. It has a purpose an...

🎥 New Video on World-Building!

Use your settings to set the mood, enforce themes, create conflict, and so much more!

Some things to consider when world-building:
1. Establish what type of world you want—dystopian, fantasy, or a mix.
2. Does it take place on earth or a different planet?
3. What are the rules, laws, and culture?
4. What’s the weather like? Does it have seasons? Natural disasters? Extreme temperatures?
5. What language do they speak?
6. What’s the history of the land?

Some things to look for:
1. Include all 5 senses.
2. Describe details that your P.O.V character would notice.
3. Use the setting to set the mood/tone of the scene.
4. Make sure the details are sprinkled throughout the scene instead of big blocks of information.
5. Make sure the rules/laws are consistent throughout the story.

Fantasy Worlds and Settings This is fantasy worlds and settings!World-building is one of the most important things about writing. Your setting can set the mood, enforce themes, create c...

If you missed our live chat with the fabulous Lilian Sue, it’s now on YouTube!

If you’re a writer and you struggle with PR or if you’re not even sure what PR is, this video is for you!

Getting yourself featured: PR For Writers With Lilian Sue This is PR for writers! Hear from Lilian the best ways of getting yourself featured with different media outlets. Lilian is an experienced PR coach and publi...

🎥‼️New Video‼️🎥

Write for the right reader by keeping a target audience in mind. Brooke and I made the mistake of not doing this with our first novels, and we wasted so much time trying to fix it! Don’t make the same mistake!

Target Audience: Write For The Right Reader Don't repeat my mistakes!Before you write your book, you should have a target audience in mind! In other words: write for the right reader. Then you can be a...

🎥 NEW VIDEO: How to write a compelling first chapter.

Chapter one is arguably the hardest chapter you’ll have to write—and the ending. But before someone buys a book, they usually read the first chapter, not the last. So you have to hook your reader right from the start!

In this video, I go over what’s expected in chapter one by agents and readers, along with tips on how to achieve those things.
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Chapter One Tips: How to write a compelling first chapter Chapter one is arguably the hardest chapter you’ll have to write—and the ending. But before someone buys a book, they usually read the first chapter, not the...

📹 NEW VIDEO 👏

I get so many questions around motivation and writers block. To be a writer is to keep trying.

Being a writer is tough, especially if you want to traditionally publish. You have to face rejection after rejection. But if you're feeling down and overwhelmed, I hope the perspective in this video helps. ♥️

Writing Motivation: Why Failure Can Be Positive True failure is not trying. Being a writer is tough, especially if you want to traditionally publish. You have to face rejection after rejection. But if you'...

✍️ Trick: Use these three writing exercises to evoke emotion on the page.

1. List your top five fears. Then force one of your characters to confront the one that's most relevant to the story.

2. Write a journal entry about the time you felt the happiest. Then try and condense it into one sentence. Use that to describe something your character is excited about.

3. When was the last time you felt shame? Write a character in a similar situation and try to make it even MORE shameful.

🎥NEW VIDEO🎥

Loglines might be the hardest 1-2 sentences you’ll ever write. Click the link below for tips on how to write a logline that will hook an agents attention!

✍️ Logline tips inspired by Ella Joy Olsen: Longlines can be an excellent hook for your query letter. Knowing your logline BEFORE you write your book can be incredibly beneficial. It’ll make you dig deep into the heart of your novel and discover what your character wants more than anything.

Ask yourself these 3 questions:
1. What makes your protagonist special?
2. What do they want more than anything?
3. What is standing in their way?

Bonus👉 add a ticking time bomb to your longline to drive the stakes.

Logline example: THE LION KING 🦁

”Lion cub and future king Simba searches for his identity. His eagerness to please others and penchant for testing his boundaries sometimes gets him into trouble.”

Ep.37 LOGLINE- How to hook an agent's attention and make them want to read your manuscript! Loglines can be a useful tool whether you’re a plotter or a pantser. Its made up of one-two sentences that describes who your protagonist is, what they striv...

“Imagination is like a muscle. I found out that the more I wrote, the bigger it got.” —Philip José Farmer

In the spirit of , I made a video for anyone who’s just starting to write their book. Even if you’ve already begun, it’s still a good idea to stop and ask yourself these 6 questions about your story.

Who’s participating in ? For those who don’t know what NaNoWriMo is—it happens the whole month of November. Authors cheer each other on while you write the first draft of your manuscript. If you’re struggling to write your book, join and me, along with the writing community, for support!

Ep.36 WAIT! Before you write another word, ask yourself these 6 questions about your book. I've been helping my best friend and cousin plot their first-ever books and I thought it would make for a perfect video! Whether you've started writing or n...

✍️ Tip: There’re two definitions when it comes to “voice” in fiction. There's the author's voice, which is the writer's unique style. And the character voice, how they speak and act.

No one can teach you how to develop your author voice. It comes from practicing the craft, your life experiences, and your heart.

Character voice comes from spending time with them and getting to know their personality. What makes them tick, what their goals are, what drives them insane, and what they can’t live without.

Here's a list of some of the factors that make up voice:

1. Length of sentences. Both in narrative and dialogue.
2. The style of your prose, descriptions, and metaphors.
3. POV
4. Use of verbs, adverbs, and adjectives.
5. Punctuation and grammar.

Every writer has to discover their own voice. Keep writing, and you WILL find yours.

The cup don’t lie. My mother-in-law got this for me 😂 I think she knows me too well 🥰

“I hate writing, I love having written.”
— Dorothy Parker

In this video, we interview Amazon Bestselling Author Andy Slinger! In addition to writing books, Andy coaches authors to effectively market their books. Because what's the point of writing a good book if no one ever finds it? Here he shares trade secrets behind his marketing success!

Ep. 35 Marketing With Amazon bestselling author, Andy Slinger In this video, Karlie and Brooke interview Amazon bestselling author, Andy Slinger! In addition to writing books, Andy coaches authors to effectively market ...

Every writer has to discover their own writing process. You do this by writing a lot, and I mean A LOT!

My writing process changes depending on the story or my mood, but for the most part, I stick to these steps.

1. Outline: I use index cards to outline every chapter from beginning to end. I start by figuring out the plot points and where I want them placed in the story. In every chapter, I brainstorm a list of possible conflicts, goals, and motives for my protagonist and antagonist. Takes 1-2 months.

2. Rough Draft: I like to call this the word vomit draft because that's what I picture myself doing. Vomiting 2,000 words on the page every day until I hit my total word goal for that book. I never reread or go back to edit until the WHOLE DRAFT IS FINISHED. Takes 2-3 months.

3. Plot Draft: I read the whole manuscript from beginning to end, focusing ONLY on the story arc and plot points. I make sure the overall story makes sense, and there aren’t any plot holes. Takes 1-2 months.

4. Character Draft: For each character, I go through every scene they’re in and make sure they’re fully developed. This allows me to jump from chapter to chapter. Takes 3-4 months.

5. Setting Draft: I move scene to scene, only focusing on world-building and descriptions. I also check the openings/closings of each scene/chapter and make sure I don’t have any repeats.

6. Final Draft: This is the draft I go through with a hawk's eye and focus on word choice, sentence structure, voice, and everything else we’ve talked about.

7. Oh and wine 🍷 for steps 1-6

The writing process is different for every writer. What works for me may not work for you. Good luck, and keep writing.