by Sara | Jun 8, 2020 | prices
Hello, lovelies! After some time and consideration, I’ve decided to raise my rates, and I just wanted to take a minute and discuss that. Compared to the industry standard, my prices are incredibly low. Like, low. The fact of the matter is, I put a lot of work into the...
by Sara | Dec 2, 2019 | Sales!
Telltail’s Facebook page is approaching 1,000 likes and it’s almost Christmas. So much excitement! As a gift to you all, I’ll be randomly choosing one person to win a free edit to celebrate when the page hits 1,000 likes. To be eligible, you must: 1. Like AND...
by Sara | Oct 16, 2019 | Craft
Here are the average story lengths for different mediums in narrative fiction. Note that these are guidelines, and with all things creative, rules are meant to be broken. Flash Fiction: 1,000 words and under “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” Flash fiction is a work...
by Sara | Sep 25, 2019 | Sales!
Sale! Sale! Sale! I’m completely booked this week and next week (September 25 – October 4). BUT I have some availability the following two weeks (October 7 – 18), so why not do a sale? From October 7 – 18, novellas (50,000 words and under) will...
by Sara | Sep 25, 2019 | Craft
A narrative arc, or story arc, is the backbone structure of a story. The narrative arc encompasses all plot points from beginning to end, following the natural progression of the story as it peaks and plateaus. Executing an effective narrative arc can make or break...
by Sara | Sep 18, 2019 | Craft
Last week’s blog discussed narrative point of view and the differences between them (first person, third person limited, third person omniscient, and second person). This week, let’s talk about verb tenses, the when the story is happening. Is it happening in the...
by Sara | Sep 11, 2019 | Craft
Narrative point of view (POV) is the narrator’s position in relation to a story being told. Point of view determines how the reader views and experiences the story. The narrator is the storyteller who readers follow throughout the story. The story can be told in...
by Sara | Aug 21, 2019 | Craft
Writer’s block is the worst. It happens to the best of us writers. Your mind has blanked, you’re frustrated, and nothing is coming out no matter how hard you try to force it. Unfortunately, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, but here are some tips you might...
by Sara | Aug 14, 2019 | Uncategorized
Filler words pop up frequently during the drafting stage when you’re banging out the words but should be cut when it comes time to edit. Every word on the page needs to be justified, and filler words often make the prose clunky and needlessly fluffy when your...
by Sara | Jul 31, 2019 | Craft
What’s your writing style? Are you a pantser, a plotter, or a plantser? A pantser is someone who plans nothing out. They write as it comes to them and often bounce around. They might not write the plot linearly. There’s more freedom in this style of writing. Changes...
by Sara | Jul 17, 2019 | Craft
I hate writing blurbs, you hate writing blurbs, we all hate writing blurbs. It’s a magical experience that connects us writers. Your blurb is your sales pitch—maybe why we all struggle with them. It’s important to get them right. Your cover draws a reader in,...
by Sara | Jul 10, 2019 | Craft
The first lines of a novel are first impressions. There are hundreds upon hundreds of books out there. What sets yours apart from others? There are many answers to this question. Three-dimensional characters. A vivid, engaging world. Strong, authentic voice. Sure,...
by Sara | Jul 3, 2019 | Craft
There are no clear-cut rules for creating amazing, vivid descriptions in a narrative. Let’s be real, it can be difficult. Descriptions are so important because they situate the reader in the story and convince them this world is real, giving them something tangible to...
by Sara | Jun 19, 2019 | Craft
Do you know the difference between active and passive voice? I see so many authors struggling to understand the difference, so let’s talk about what makes a sentence active or passive. Active vs. Passive In a sentence that’s using active voice, the subject is...
by Sara | Jun 12, 2019 | Punctuation
Sorry, guys. I didn’t mean for you to find out this way. But it’s true… I’m a total nerd. I admit it. A Doctor Who-watching, Zelda-playing, dash-loving nerd. One who has strong opinions on the dashes—which is today’s topic! In case you didn’t know, there are three...
by Sara | Jun 5, 2019 | Grammar
Since I haven’t done a blog on grammar yet, I figured today was the day! Here’s a cheat sheet of the most common word usage mistakes. Lie vs Lay The difference can be tricky, especially with the past tenses. Here’s a trick: lay requires a direct object, whereas...
by Sara | May 29, 2019 | Craft
Write what you know. My first exposure to this idea was in college. I can’t tell you how many times we discussed it in my creative writing classes, and I loved every bit of it. When I first discussed it, I was a staunch believer that I didn’t write what I knew—I wrote...
by Sara | May 22, 2019 | Craft, Punctuation
Writing dialogue can feel like pulling teeth. We’ve all been there. In fact, many writers consider it to be the hardest part of writing. Having choppy, unrealistic, or just cringe-worthy dialogue can ruin a story. As a reader, I’ve put books down before because...
by Sara | May 15, 2019 | Punctuation
I’m sure your first question was, what the heck is an interrobang? You know what it is, have probably even used it before. I didn’t learn the name for it until months ago, and now it fascinates me for some strange reason. The interrobang is commonly represented by the...
by Sara | May 13, 2019 | Misc.
I just want to kind of talk about how I got here and how excited and scared I am for this new avenue. Let all you lovely people get to know me better. Since I was a teenager, I knew I wanted to be a writer. That wasn’t a hard decision for me. Writing felt—and feels...
