Author: Cathryn Free
-
Boost Your Writing With These Must-Know Literary Devices
Discover how imagery, metaphors, and other essential techniques bring your words to life. “I could never write like that.”“I’m just not a literary writer.” If I had a dollar for every time a friend, student, or fellow writer said something like this… well, I’d at least be able to buy myself a new notebook. This…
-
What to Do When Your Draft Isn’t Working
A Writer’s Guide to Not Spiraling Every writer has a few moments in the drafting or revising process where they stop, stare at the manuscript, and think, Oh no. This is a disaster. You know the moments I’m talking about: your plot veers off in twelve directions, your characters are suddenly acting like they have…
-
Querying Mistakes I Made (So You Don’t Have To)
We’ve all been there, right? The endless querying trenches, staring at your inbox like it might suddenly start producing miracles. In my last post, I talked about the things that helped me finally land my dream agent (after, ahem, a very long road). But if I’m being honest, that road was also paved with a…
-
Big News! My Book is Being Published!
A Dream Years in the Making (and the Moment It Became Real) It’s a Dream Come True!I was in the middle of teaching when my watch buzzed and I saw the flash across the screen of the email. It was first offer on the book I had spent months (years!) working on. I temporarily forgot…
-
How to Land a Literary Agent: Part Two
Tips and tricks to help you finally land your dream literary agent! Every writer has a few milestones that they dream about and celebrate along their journey. The first time you finish a novel. The first rejection or the first acceptance. The first time seeing your name in print. One of the most major milestones…
-
How to Land Your Literary Agent: Part One
Tips and tricks to help you finally land your dream literary agent! We all dream of the moment and what it will be like. After months or maybe (in my case) years of querying, you finally get that fateful call or email from a literary agent: They want to talk about representation! But for so…
-
I’m Officially Represented!
I landed a literary agent and am officially represented! Somebody pinch me—this is surreal. Crazy. Something I’ve only ever dream about. After querying my current novel for nearly a year, I am officially represented by Sara Shandler of The Book Group. It is an absolute dream come true, and I’m so excited for these next…
-
Writing 101
Use these tips to improve your basic writing! New to writing? Or maybe you’ve been writing seriously for a while, but you aren’t seeing the results you want. Writing, like any craft, is something that you can develop and improve on through deliberate practice. It’s not a fixed talent that you’re either born with or…
-
6 More Books to Read if You’re Serious about Writing
The six mores are must reads if you ready to take your writing seriously. In my previous post, 6 Books to Read if You’re Serious about Writing, I explain that as writers, we are constantly learning and growing in our craft. This means the we are forever students of the craft of writing. The more…
-
How to Be More Creative
Tips to help you banish doubt and be more creative. “I could never do that.” “I’m just not creative.” I’ve heard my fair share of dismissive remarks from people (friends, students, etc.) about creativity. They often sound like a variation on the same theme: I’m simple not made that way. This idea that some lucky…
cathrynfree.com 