You finished a first draft. Phew! And now you may or may not be staring at a huge pile of messy pages that may or may not resemble a novel. My guess is you’re exhausted. You’re burnt out. You’re sick of this story and all of the characters and never want to look at them  … Read more

Coming up with the perfect title for your novel is no picnic. Especially if you’ve been working on the story for months and you’re so close to it, it’s nearly impossible to see it objectively. That’s what happened to me with my latest middle grade novel, so I thought I’d write a post that breaks  … Read more

It’s officially NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) where writers across the globe challenge themselves to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November.  To help you smash through that 50k word mark, I’m sharing with you my NaNoWriMo Starter Beat Sheet. What’s a “starter beat sheet?” Well, think of it as a foundation  … Read more

It’s no big secret that if we want to hook readers from the first chapter, we actually have to write a first chapter that hooks readers. With TBR stacks getting taller and taller, and Netflix releasing a new bingeable show every twenty minutes, gone are the days when readers will graciously give new books 50,  … Read more

If you’re writing a novel or short story using the Save the Cat! beat sheet and wondering exactly where your beats should fall, then have I got a cool tool for you! (Not to mention a nice rhyme there.) When outlining, writing, or revising a novel, it’s helpful to know not only what story beats  … Read more

Can you smell it in the air? No, it’s not the smell of pine trees and gingerbread. It’s the smell of your regular writing routine wafting out the window and getting buried under ten feet of snow. The holidays are great fun but they can also be a difficult time for writers. Relatives descend, the  … Read more

Writing a book outline is hard. Writing a book in general is hard. Plotting a compelling character arc and figuring out what happens next is a challenge for any writer, professional and newbie alike! Fortunately, I’m here to make it WAY easier for you. This blog post features my tried and true 15 steps to  … Read more

Prologues! Prologues! Prologues! It seems like everywhere I turn these days, I’m being asked about prologues. Namely, how do prologues fit into the Save the Cat! Beat Sheet? And whenever I get asked the same STC-related question an uncanny amount of times it makes me A) Wish I could go back in time and write  … Read more

As we hit the two-year anniversary of the release of Save the Cat! Writes a Novel, I’m still constantly learning new things about the magic of the Save the Cat! Beat Sheet. And those new things are usually inspired by questions I get from other writers. This particular writing tip was not inspired by one  … Read more

At the center of your story’s universe lies the answer… Every solar system has a sun at its center. Every atom of matter has a nucleus at its core. Every swarm of alien space pods has a mothership to guide them all back home. And every story has a center point around which all other  … Read more

If you’re a writer you know it. It’s in your blood. In your DNA. You see stories everywhere. You live in a world of words. I meet writers all the time who say, “Well, I’m trying to be a writer.” Or “I’m an aspiring writer.” That’s like saying, “I’m an aspiring human being.” Don’t let  … Read more

I know, I know. I’m the queen of the writing routine. You’ve probably heard me say more than once, “Write every day!” “Write even when you’re not inspired!” “Get your butt in the chair and get something down on the page!” And while I still firmly believe that writing every day is the fastest way  … Read more

I don’t know about you but I’m a perfectionist, especially when it comes to my writing. I lie in bed at night thinking about all the ways I can improve what I wrote that day. This is the natural state of the writer. Always wanting to make it better. Always wanting to go back and  … Read more

Woo hoo! It’s almost NaNoWriMo time! For those of you who don’t know, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month and it’s a great event that happens every November where novelists around the world take on the challenge of writing a novel (equivalent to 50,000 words or more) in one month. As someone who writes four  … Read more

A WEEK OF MONDAYS, my new young adult novel is out in the world! Hoorah! The book is about sixteen-year-old Ellie Sparks who finds herself reliving the same horrible Monday over and over again, in which her boyfriend breaks up with her. And although yes, that does sound horrific, it’s actually a comedy! Click here  … Read more

I’m currently reading and absolutely loving BIG MAGIC by Elizabeth Gilbert. I’m always dazzled by her books, but this one especially is resonating with me. I love the way she demystifies the mysteries of the creative process while at the same time paying homage to them and embracing the fact that sometimes the art of  … Read more

Wow! Week 5 was a surprisingly good week! As always, below is my weekly summary (with chart!) and my daily breakdowns in case you’re interested in the more day-to-day process of writing. Click on chart to see it bigger. WEEKLY SUMMARY: Date: 10/1/14 – 10/7/14 Weekly Words Written: 14,356 Total Words to Date: 57,993 Number  … Read more

Week 4 and more than halfway through the rough (emphasis on ROUGH) draft! As always, below is my weekly summary (with chart!) and my daily breakdowns in case you’re interested in the more day-to-day process of writing. And notice the MASSIVE drop in mood this week! YIKES! Click on chart to see it bigger. WEEKLY  … Read more

WRITERS! Take heed! I want to share with you an amazing new place for writers to get their YA romance novels published!!! Introducing…SWOON READS! Swoon Reads is an imprint of Feiwel and Friends and Macmillan Publishing (my publisher!) but it’s more than just another imprint.  Swoon Reads is a community of readers and writers sharing  … Read more

I used to be one of those writers who could only write at home. Shut up in my office, lights low, door closed, windows shut—a make-shift cocoon. Because I required complete silence and isolation. But I became frustrated that I couldn’t be one of those cool writers you see in coffee shops and cafes, sitting  … Read more