Category: Writing Tips
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Important: New Rules on Amazon
I want to share this information from Jackie Weger, the founder and leader of eNovel Authors at Work. I’m happy to be held to high standards, both as an author and an editor. I hope Amazon enforces and uses the new rules properly and doesn’t listen to the trolls out there who leave reviews just…
P. C. Zick
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How to help Indie Authors – A Primer
How to help Indie Authors – A Primer for family, friends, fans, and other Indie Writers It’s not easy taking the route of Indie Author or any route as an author. The field is crowded, and it’s hard for readers to sift through it all. So in addition to writing, most of us Indies spend…
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Hazy is Not Spam
I call her Hazy; she calls me P.C. And we call each other friends. Thankfully, she contacted me recently to ask me a question. She thought it strange that I had not been responding to comments she left on my blog. She knows me well and knew something must be amiss if I wasn’t responding.…
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Writer’s Write, and Then They Write Again
By Patricia Zick @PCZick Here I am with four books published on Kindle and in paperback through Createspace. I started this journey of Indie Author with the publication of Live from the Road in May 2012. It’s been sixteen months, and I’ve learned and suffered and fretted. I’ve also enjoyed being in control of my…
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How Much Background Is Too Much in a Novel?
By Patricia Zick @PCZick I’m happily working away at the new novel these days. When I wrote the original concept back in 2006, I provided lots of background research on Florida and the Everglades. That’s the way I’ve always written, even when I was a reporter. I regurgitated all the new and old knowledge onto…
P. C. Zick
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Earth Day – Incorporate “Green” in Stories
By Patricia Zick @PCZick Today is the forty-third anniversary of the very first Earth Day in 1970 when environmentally minded folks came together to raise awareness after several major disasters in this country. First, in 1969 there was a devastating oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara that compromised both the habitat and the…
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Write the Perfect Lead and It All Falls in Place
By Patricia Zick @PCZick “The young man huddled under a layer of blankets with a cap covering his bald head, as he talked about an upcoming trip to Las Vegas before he died.” I learned a valuable lesson about writing a story, whether fiction or nonfiction, after writing my first feature article. The lead (or…
P. C. Zick
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Write First, Write Great
By Patricia Zick @PCZick As I read about how successfully to market my books, I keep coming back to one word of advice: WRITE. To make a name for myself as a writer, I must always remember to keep writing. When I look at my discouraging book sales, instead of hanging my head, I must…
P. C. Zick
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Weaving Real Events into Fiction
By Patricia Zick @PCZick When I began the early scribbles for what eventually became Trails in the Sand, I was writing about current events. BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill still led the headlines as oil gushed unabated into the Gulf of Mexico. Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch mine explosion made headlines in few months after…
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All Writing is Opinion – So No Need to Shout
Hello – I’m changing my routine a bit with Writing Whims. On Mondays, I’ll post my tips and thoughts about writing. On Wednesdays, I’ll be featuring other writers – please see the note below about Author Wednesday. On Fridays, I’ll post book reviews. Sometimes I might be reviewing a book by Wednesday’s author, or I…
P.C. ZICK 