Free Writing Guides--If You Are a Writer, This is a MUST READ

If you are not a follower of Jordan McCollum, you definitely should be. Seriously. I am so impressed with her free writing guides and how she is always looking for ways to share her writing knowledge with others. Having her as a crit partner has really improved my own writing because of the way she makes me dig deeper into my plot/characters/whatever else needs it. She has such a clear critique style I know I'm lucky to have her. Beyond her teaching skills, she's an amazing writer in her own right and has an incredible book due out next year. You won't want to miss that one, but I'll let her tell you more about it.

Yesterday I was reading her newest writing guide about emotions in our characters and I knew I wanted to share her with all my writer friends. (I don't know why I haven't sooner. Just being selfish in wanting her all to myself I guess.) Her writing guides are a must read for any writer out there who wants to improve their craft. So here's me, being unselfish and giving you one of my own secret writing weapons---Jordan McCollum.


Hello! I'm Jordan McCollum, a soon-to-be published author—my first novel is due out next year from Covenant Communications. I write romantic suspense—my novel is about an LDS FBI agent who has to go undercover as a Catholic priest to root out a mob, and then he falls for the parish secretary. (In addition to being crit partners, Julie & I are editor buddies, too!) On my blog at JordanMcCollum.com, I usually post about author marketing and writing craft.


Whenever I focus on a particular issue in my revisions, I learn so much that I can't wait to share it, usually in a blog series. (This is often a lot more effective than my second favorite method, critique notes in hieroglyphics.) If I'm really feeling motivated, I even assemble the blog series into a free PDF writing guide.


Emotion: it's tough, my latest PDF writing guide, just came out yesterday. It's hard to portray emotion well—but readers read to connect with the character for an emotional experience. Creating that emotional connection can be a key to writing powerful fiction.


Do you want to take your fiction to the next level? Check out my free writing guides: Deep POV, creating character sympathy, and plotting, as well as a guide to websites for aspiring authors! (Click the words "free writing guides" above and you'll be linked to them.)


And did I mention they're free?