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My Writing Process-Part 1
by Joelle Steele Like most writers, my writing has evolved over the past 54 years. It started with a plan, detoured off, sometimes into the sunset, then rejoined the caravan to go off in a different direction or two. I started writing when I was a child, mostly essays and little… Read more…
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Finding Time to Write
by Joelle Steele When I used to teach writing classes, many students complained that they had no time to write, often because they have a day job or kids and spouse, etc. I can certainly understand. Here is how I have dealt with the time constraints of daily life in… Read more…
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Build Your Support Network
by Joelle Steele Building a support network is important for writers and all creative people. Many who are new to writing think it’s a solitary pursuit. They envision themselves as a 19th century writer dipping a quill in an inkwell in a cold, dusty garret. But nothing can or should… Read more…
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Querying Books & Articles
by Joelle Steele Querying is something that every writer needs to be able to do in order to get articles and books published. Many books and articles have been written about querying, and the Writer’s Market usually includes a section on querying methods. This is how I handle querying. Query… Read more…
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Ideas, ideas, ideas!
by Joelle Steele I’ve been writing continuously since I was a child, and there has never been even a second where I didn’t have far more ideas than I could ever possibly use. I keep a file in which I have numerous ideas for poems, articles, books, etc. Since I… Read more…
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Other Skills for Writers
by Joelle Steele There are several things that writers can learn to do in conjunction with their writing, that can increase their income. Most of these things will help financially when writing is not paying the bills as well as it should. Photography. I was interested in photography as a… Read more…
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Honing Your Writing Skills
by Joelle Steele I’ve been making my living as a writer for almost 50 years. The main thing I’ve learned is that to make a living as a writer, you have to get over any high-falutin’ ideas you may have about what it means to be a writer. Writing is… Read more…
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Novel or Screenplay?
by Joelle Steele Are you hoping that your novel, short story, or autobiography will one day be made into a screenplay? Or are you just having difficulty deciding whether to write your story as a novel or a screenplay? As a writer, I much prefer books to anything a movie… Read more…
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Writers vs. Publishing Industry Statistics
by Joelle Steele Are you dreaming about making a fortune by writing a book? Do you dream of being the next John Grisham, Nicolas Sparks, Toni Morrison, Stephen King? Okay, time to come back down to planet earth. This is your reality check. I love to write. I’ve been making… Read more…
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Self- or Indie Publishing
by Joelle Steele I love the publishing industry, and I’ve been in that industry since the early 1970s. I was a periodicals publisher starting in 1983, and that was when I first started self-publishing some of my own books about horticulture and face and ear identification. Self-publishing and indie publishing… Read more…
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Developing Fictional Characters
by Joelle Steele When writing a novel, character development is about the most important things any writer has to do next to the plot. I can’t even begin to tell you how many books I’ve read where the characters were unoriginal and in many cases not even the least bit… Read more…
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My Writing Process-Part 2
by Joelle Steele It would seem that writing a book, especially a novel, should be a very simple process. Well, it probably is for some writers. But for me, I write books that are pretty complex, with plenty of trivia to support my characters and the plot. I’m also very… Read more…
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A Writer’s Life
by Joelle Steele What is a writer’s life like? Well, it depends on the writer. Here are some answers to questions readers and students have frequently asked me over the years. Do you get lonely? Never. Writing is not my whole life. It is my career, it is important to… Read more…
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Favorite Novels & Authors
by Joelle Steele Here are some of the novels I’ve read that are among my top favorites, along with a list of some authors for whom I have read most or all of their titles. I’m not recommending these books, because I have no idea what other readers might like.… Read more…
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Why I Read What I Read
by Joelle Steele As a writer, I am often asked what I like to read. That’s a tough question for me, because I read one or two books a week, I have very wide and eclectic interests, and I read both fiction and non-fiction. I have an incredibly long list… Read more…
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My Arden Family Novels
by Joelle Steele I was prompted to blog on this topic by “Sandy” who has read all my novels and noticed the name Arden appeared in them. And there’s a good reason for that. Here it is. Way back in 1978, I was writing my fourth novel, the first to… Read more…
