by Samantha Fenton

Garret: a top-floor or attic room, especially a small dismal one (traditionally inhabited by an artist).

I once read a book on writing which mentioned “finding a garret.” I had not heard this term before, and didn’t quite know exactly how it related to writing. But the book had explained it as an area a writer can go to write perfectly uninterrupted and at peace. It’s a place where you can get mass amounts of writing done without distraction, it’s a place that’s comfortable and a generally nice spot to be at.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

I’ve made a little video to explain the program I use for my tutorials.

A few readers have asked about my process.

My videos may not be Emmy-ready, but they get the job done, so here you go.

Did this help anyone?

Let me know if you’ve found a better mousetrap for making videos.

I’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment or click the “write me” tab or look for me on Twitter @jeancogdell, Facebook at jean.cogdell and Amazon.com, stop by and say hey! The lights are on, and I’m waiting.

Please remember to share this post with your Twitter  peeps and Facebook fans.

Keep reading for more tips!

5 Tips for Making a High Quality Video for Your Website

28 Tips To Start A Vlog And Make Videos Like YouTube Stars

How to Make Your First Video

(https://pixabay.com)

Several people have asked me if my book Maledicus: The Investigative Paranormal Society Book I by Charles F. French is available as an audiobook.  The answer is no, but I should do this; however, I do not wish to pay anyone to do it. I can record it myself, but here is the problem: I do not know what program or format to use so Amazon can sell it.

I am asking for help. Does anyone have any knowledge of creating audiobooks? If you can help me, I greatly appreciate it, and I thank you in advance.

Please follow the following links to find my novel:

ebook

Print book

Thank you!

The book trailer:

Maledicus:Investigative Paranormal Society Book I

My radio interview:

interview

It’s only writing.

When I heard this phrase earlier in the week I couldn’t help but be offended. Is that really what some people think? Do they not realise how much time and effort goes into writing a book?

The aching fingers from typing too much when the muse rides you.

The sleepless nights when you have ideas rolling around your head and not enough time to write them all down.

The stress of being unable to find the right words.

The joy at finding the perfect ones.

The tears when you must kill off a character you love.

The pain when you write how the other characters feel about it.

The annoyance when you realise you forgot about a key point of the plot and have to rewrite a whole chapter.

The elation of finishing your first draft. (Usually after months of all the above)

The irritation of editing.

Using my unreleased manuscript An Angel On Her Shoulder, I am showing you my techniques for reworking a story into a more readable, more enjoyable piece. It’s 45+ lessons in about 45 days. (To start at Chapter 1, click HERE.)

To view it best, bring up the two versions in different windows and view them side by side to see what was changed.

Then give me your thoughts in the comment section.

Writing A Roller Coaster

Tip #1: If there’s a hill, there probably has to be a valley. (Maybe a twisty turn.)

This scene follows a pretty dramatic one. It would be really hard to get a second reveal going right now; it could be great and it won’t have the same punch. Readers just had a thrill, so like a roller coaster that just dropped down a big hill, we’ll do something else.

Hopefully it’s…

This article follows on from How Do I Create A Facebook Event? and you should read that one first if you’re starting out on the process. Today we’re talking about how to communicate to the guests who are attending your Facebook event.

How can I get in touch with people attending my Facebook event?

There are two ways to do this: add a post to the event, or message attendees.

Adding a post to the event

Once you’ve created an event, when you go into the event page, you will find that it looks quite like a normal Facebook newsfeed. On the left-hand side, you will find an option to Write Post / Add Photo/Video or Create Poll (you can create a poll to find out people’s music or food preferences, for example).

Type your message into the text box and hit Post and your message will be visible on…

I was at a book signing the other day, and a person asked me a question that caused me to have to think a little before blurting out an answer. The question was, “What should every new writer know?” My answer at the time seemed to satisfy the person asking but after giving it a little more thought I decided that my reply was at best adequate and at worst incomplete. Now thanks to the Mystery Thriller Week I have been given another opportunity to adequately express what I have no come to call My Advice for New Writers that Every New Writer Should Know Before Deciding to Become a Writer. I think you can tell from my title that the thought process has grown from my initial response at the book signing. Also, if you have decided to become a writer no matter what anyone tells you, I would…