Please enjoy these blog posts from the staff at Word Weaver Pro, as well as a variety of wonderful guest authors.
A Tomifesto: In Defense of Manly Books (and Other Things with Claws)
1 day ago
Today’s guest blogger is Tom, Male Cat, Literary Traditionalist, Victim of Romantasy
Allow me to introduce myself. I am Tom. I am a male cat. I have scars on my nose from battles that mattered…
State of the Fiction Publishing Industry By Yasmin the Cow (Author, Ruminant, Thought Leader)
2 days ago
I am Yasmin, a cow of letters. Not letters like the ones the postman eats when he gets nervous, but letters like novels, manuscripts, and those mysterious emails that begin with “Dear Author” and…
Alpha, Beta, and Test Readers
3 weeks ago
Writing a novel is often described as a solitary act, but finishing a good novel rarely is. At some point, every writer benefits from outside eyes—readers who can reflect the story back to us, point…
The Dinkus
3 weeks ago
Note: The image for this is three characters from the wonderful comic Asterix. Get it? Three characters of Asterix. Like a dinkus. I knew you would find that as funny as I do.
Every novel is…
How to Build Confidence and Go After the Life You Really Want
1 month ago
Today we have an article from guest blogger Jenna Sherman, a mom of three who hopes to help other parents acquire the skills to raise future leaders by providing valuable, up-to-date, authoritative…
When Stress Pushes Back: How Writers Can Stay Upright
1 month ago
Today we have an article from guest blogger Jenna Sherman, a mom of three who hopes to help other parents acquire the skills to raise future leaders by providing valuable, up-to-date, authoritative…
Completing your manuscript as a New Year’s resolution for someone with ADHD or autism
2 months ago
Yes, I am aware the title is a bit long, however, it says what it needs to. Every January, the world feels like it’s brimming with possibility. The calendar resets, and so do our ambitions. For…
’Twas the night before deadline
2 months ago
’Twas the night before deadline, when all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring—except my computer mouse.
The coffee was cooling, my patience worn thin,
In hopes that inspiration soon would…
The Endless Inspiration for Fiction from Real History
3 months ago
When I was a kid, I played a lot of tabletop roleplaying games. Starting (like most) with D&D. I moved on to sci-fi games. In fantasy and far-future settings you have free-reign with the world…
Writing Dialogue in Sign Language
6 months ago
In my current WIP, I have a character who has a severe speech impediment and uses American Sign Language (ASL). After doing of research (author research rabbit hole alert!), and taking some classes…
The Unapologetic Appeal of Potty Humor
6 months ago
The other day, I saw a post on X that made me snort-laugh. Someone was talking about their main character — a werewolf — and how, during the transformation, there’s this little… release of gas as…
The Great Prologue Debate: To Prologue or Not to Prologue
6 months ago
If you’ve been around writers for more than five minutes — or even just hung out in bookish corners of the internet — you’ve probably stumbled into that debate: prologues. Love them? Hate them? Avoid…
Why You Need a Website to Grow Your Audience and Own Your List
6 months ago
I can hear you now. “An author website is a pain in the ass! Do I really need one?”
No. You can stop reading. Just kidding. Keep reading!
Are you an author looking to expand your…
Beyond the First Break: What Comes Next for Self-Published Authors on the Rise
8 months ago
Today we have another great article from guest blogger Jenna Sherman, a mom of three who hopes to help other parents acquire the skills to raise future leaders by providing valuable, up-to-date,…
From Hustle to Headquarters: How Freelance Writers Can Grow into Small Business Owners
10 months ago
Today we have an article from guest blogger Jenna Sherman, a mom of three who hopes to help other parents acquire the skills to raise future leaders by providing valuable, up-to-date, authoritative…
Science Fiction Theatre
10 months ago
When I was a kid, Science Fiction Theatre was already old and in reruns on my local independent channel. In the 1970s and early 1980s, most communities had one. They frequently showcased monster…
Trigger warnings and feedback from the identity-obsessed
11 months ago
For authors struggling to perfect their craft, feedback is an indispensable tool in the writing and publishing process. But where that feedback comes from really matters. The thoughts and opinions of…
How Creatives Can Get Discovered and Turn Their Passion into a Full-Blown Career
11 months ago
Today we have an article from guest blogger Jenna Sherman, a mom of three who hopes to help other parents acquire the skills to raise future leaders by providing valuable, up-to-date, authoritative…
Traveller: Two L’s and a Timeless Masterpiece of Sci-Fi Role-Playing
1 year ago
This article was first published in Flipping & Turning magazine. A fantastic publication for old-school tabletop gamers. Highly recommended.
When I first opened the box and held the…
Break Free from Those Creative Blocks and Reach New Heights
1 year ago
Today we have an article from guest blogger Jenna Sherman, a mom of three who hopes to help other parents acquire the skills to raise future leaders by providing valuable, up-to-date, authoritative…
Data Overload
1 year ago
Today with have an essay from our esteemed friend, J Lehman-Köhler, who insists he does not spend his days on X doom-scrolling and watching 8 hours of YouTube. It was written before his recent…
How Codes of Conduct Are Weaponized
1 year ago
Even in the modern world that takes pride in diversity, equal opportunities, and tolerance, there is a significantly worrying trend emerging — using certain behavioral standards as weapons to mute,…
When “Nazi” Loses Its Meaning: The Danger of Diluting History
1 year ago
Recently, I went to Blue Sky (which I do not do frequently) and witnessed all sorts of unkind slurs being directed at people who, for the most part, were trying to articulate reasonable opinions that…
Why Freedom of Speech is Essential for Fiction Writers
1 year ago
Different narratives are bound to deal with human behavior, and in such a case, freedom of expression is dynamic: it serves as the very vein to creativity. For fiction writers, this liberty is the…
Of Wagging Tails and Furry Co-Stars: Pets in Novels of All Genres
1 year ago
Let’s discuss pets in novels. I’ll confess: I have a number of pets. My home office is pretty much a veritable land mine of dog toys and rawhide in various states of softness and mastication. When I…
The Magic of Christmas in Fiction: A Season for Every Story
1 year ago
Hot take: Anyone who does not think Christmas is the greatest holiday is weird. Actually, I want you out of my life, right now, forever. The irrefutable, and objectively correct, truth is that…
Modern Book Burning: Amazon’s Monopoly
1 year ago
When discussions about book banning arise, the narrative often centers around school boards removing books with graphic content from libraries or curricula. While these actions spark significant…
Speak Loudly: Tools for Authors Facing Book Bans
1 year ago
Today we have a fascinating article from guest blogger Jenna Sherman, a mom of three who hopes to help other parents acquire the skills to raise future leaders by providing valuable, up-to-date,…
Unleashing the Darkness: Integrating Black Friday into Your Horror Novel
1 year ago
The allure of Black Friday—a day marked by frenzied shopping, midnight doorbusters, and crowds that swell to the tens of thousands—provides a fertile ground for horror narratives. This annual event,…
The Resonance of Voice in Storytelling: Insights from Classic Literature
1 year ago
Voice is one of the fundamental elements of narrative in the vast landscape of literature that sets one narrative apart from the other. It’s not only the words used in a story, but the unique voice,…
Bugs!
1 year ago
In keeping with our Halloween theme, this post will concern bugs. Full disclosure: I absolutely hate bugs, and squeal like a little girl (literally) if one gets close to me. I don’t care that they’re…
Halloween for authors
1 year ago
The only thing scary about the horrible store-bought Halloween costumes of the 70s and 80s was getting cancer from everything toxic you touched. It always just felt disgusting to me, the way they…
ROI for the self-published
1 year ago
With all the exciting projects he has going on, we are very grateful that David Badurina has taken some time to contribute to the blog as a guest writer to help inform his fellow writers about …
Spiritscribing & the art of Fictional (Ghost) Writing
1 year ago
To continue in our series of working with book coaches and ghostwriters (very different things), we take a deep dive into something called Spiritscribing. We are excited to have Rich Rubio talk about…
Thinking about a Ghostwriter?
1 year ago
Continuing our series on working with book coaches and ghostwriters (different things!) we turn from Angelle Horste-MacKiernan’s excellent piece about how to choose a book coach to this post about…
What is a Book Coach? Do you need one?
1 year ago
Our focus this month is on bringing in someone to assist you, such as a book coach or a ghostwriter, in completing your manuscript when you need some extra help.
Today we are thrilled to have…
Writing an effective blurb
1 year ago
In this post, we are going to look at creating a compelling book blurb for the back cover (and online description) for your novel. We will explore the theory of a good blurb, as well as examine one…
The science behind ‘Shower Thoughts’
1 year ago
Have you ever experienced a sudden, brilliant insight while washing your hair? You’re not alone. These moments, often referred to as shower thoughts, are surprisingly common, but why do they happen?…
Mastering the art of subtly implying character power in action novels
1 year ago
My WIP was an actiony sci-fi story with a whole lot of superhero stuff. The MC is incredibly strong, but has numerous significant weaknesses. Not falling back on the clunky exposition or tired tropes…
Relatable characters
2 years ago
Relatable characters in a story form an essential part of any interesting storytelling. So here, I’m going to take a look at some of the most useful ways to really get a reader invested in the…
One bite at a time: How writing a novel is like eating an elephant
2 years ago
The thought of writing a novel can feel a bit like the old saying about the right way to eat an elephant. It’s a journey of a thousand miles — or a million words — that begins with a single step.…
Capturing the wild inspiration
2 years ago
Imagine walking along a trail and Bigfoot crossed your path but all you had was an axe and no way to take a picture with! You can try to explain what you saw, but the moment when everything came into…
A puzzle with missing pieces
2 years ago
I noticed that a kid was doing some working out a puzzle, but he had lost some of the pieces, and he was replacing them with pieces she was cutting out of some cardboard. Writing a novel is the same…
Plotters, pantsers, and everyone in-between: Navigating the diverse world of novel writing
2 years ago
In the world of novel writing, there are traditionally two camps: plotters and pantsers.
But the creative process is never as black and white as the paper on which a novel is printed and…
Guest blogger: the burden of creation
2 years ago
Write a blog post? So, some good news to give courage to other authors?
Why?
What is the point?
In the random and chaotic fabric of reality, past the veil of indifference and…
Unleash your inner genius: writing advice from the greatest author of all time
2 years ago
Today we are lucky and thrilled to get OUR FIRST guest writer to grace the pixels that is the Word Weaver Pro blog section!
Follow this truly inspiring author and his work on X and the web…
