Miscellaneous

How I Outline (And Write) My Novels

Foreword: This week has been crazy. Between attending the LitUp Festival today, trying to coordinate the cover for TOOK ME YESTERDAY (the sequel of TAKE ME TOMORROW) on Wattpad, and some other crazy exciting news, I almost (ALMOST) let this blog post get away from me. (Thank the writing gods for iCalendar reminders.) That being… Continue reading How I Outline (And Write) My Novels

Miscellaneous

Is it Possible to Read Too Much as a Writer?

Last year, I read 167 books according to Goodreads. Granted, this is a mixture of everything under the publishing sun: adult fiction, YA, MG, graphic novels, and, yes, even picture books. My job at the library has definitely broadened my reading sphere, for which I’m super grateful. (I never knew picture books could be so… Continue reading Is it Possible to Read Too Much as a Writer?

Miscellaneous

Can Someone Steal Your Book Idea?

Can someone steal your book idea? I tend to find there are two responses to this question: Absolutely! YES! Someone did that to meeee! NO WAY. Never happens. It’s impossible, because your idea can only be written by you. To be honest, I think both of these answers are a little too black and white.… Continue reading Can Someone Steal Your Book Idea?

Miscellaneous

#MondayBlogs How To Find Beta Readers

Beta reader (n): an avid reader/critique partner/superhero who looks over your novel/baby/everything before anyone else sees it in order to improve language/characters/grammar/basically the whole package. Okay, but really, beta readers are necessary, because they are an extra set of knowledgeable eyes on your work. They’ll see those plot holes you understand (but accidentally forgot to… Continue reading #MondayBlogs How To Find Beta Readers

Miscellaneous

#MondayBlogs My Protagonist and Illiteracy

My protagonist is illiterate. She recognizes a few letters, she can identify her name, and she loves listening to stories more than anything. But she cannot read. Her name is Serena, and Serena is a bad blood. Bad Bloods in 35 words or less: 17-year-old Serena is the only bad blood to escape execution. Now… Continue reading #MondayBlogs My Protagonist and Illiteracy

Miscellaneous

August’s Ketchup

Wow! August, I’m looking at you. You are wonderful. For those of you just now checking in this month, Ketchup actually means “catch up.” At the end of every month, I write these posts describing what goes on behind the scenes at ShannonAThompson.com. Some of the topics I cover include my big moments, top blog… Continue reading August’s Ketchup

Writing Tips

Website Wonders

Every month, I share all of the websites I come across that I find helpful, humorous, or just awesome. Below, you’ll find all of August’s Website Wonders categorized into Writing, Reading, Conspiracies, and Procrastination. If you enjoy these websites, be sure to follow me on Twitter because I share even more websites and photos like… Continue reading Website Wonders

Miscellaneous

#SATurdate: An Ember in the Ashes, A Torch Against the Night, W – Two Worlds, & YALLFest.

What I’m Writing: Honestly, I’ve put the next Bad Bloods books away for now. Sophia would not shut up, so I spent my writing time obliging her this week. Basically, I wrote in book 3 of the Tomo Trilogy, Take Me Never. I know. I know. Book 1 isn’t even out, so a lot of… Continue reading #SATurdate: An Ember in the Ashes, A Torch Against the Night, W – Two Worlds, & YALLFest.

Miscellaneous

#WW I Love Free Readers

What is a free reader? A reader who only reads free books. In a market where millions of books are listed as free across all platforms, free readers have become a common occurrence…and they’ve also caught a lot of flak. First, I want to clarify that I’m not talking about people who steal books by… Continue reading #WW I Love Free Readers

Miscellaneous

#MondayBlogs An Author Who Fears Public Speaking

Despite working with the English language every day—as a writer, as an editor, and as a reader—I have difficulty speaking. I stumble and stutter a lot. Perhaps this is one of the reasons I worked so hard to master the written language. I was making up for another aspect of the language I didn’t excel… Continue reading #MondayBlogs An Author Who Fears Public Speaking