Category Archives: The Shea Method

Publishing my novel has been 12 years in the making. Yes, you read that right! I’m as incredulous as you are. And what a labor of love this has been. Mostly, when people would say, “You wrote a book? That’s amazing!” I would shake my head and deny it. Writing is how I keep sane.Continue reading “A Writing Journey to Publish Dance With Me”

When you’re a writer and you tell someone you’re writing a book, there are two inevitable questions: “What is it about?” and “Are you going to publish?” To be honest, I used to hate these questions. The first one you know I dreaded per the previous post, “A Writing Tip for Talking about your Book.”Continue reading “A Writing Tip for Choosing How to Publish”

If you’re like me, then you dread the question, “What’s your book about?” It’s not that I don’t know what my book is about. That would be silly. I’ve just spent years writing this story. These characters are my friends. How could I not know? The problem is that I know my book too well.Continue reading “A Writing Tip for Talking about your Book”

This is advice I didn’t make up, but it’s something I’ve followed numerous times. It’s advice you’re not going to like because it’s probably one of the hardest things you’ll ever have to do with your writing. No, it’s not killing your darlings (although that gets significantly easier with this step). Here’s the case forContinue reading “A Writing Tip for Starting Over”

Writer’s Block…ah, that dreaded word. The arch nemesis of every writer, whether your specialty is prose, poetry, song writing, or some other medium. If Writer’s Block were a person, it would be one we cross the street to avoid. It’s the antagonist to our muse. The darkness we pretend doesn’t exist. For most of us,Continue reading “A Writing Tip for Writer’s Block”

I won’t say that I am the worst at using commas, but I will say that commas are not frequently used in my writing. Except as it pertains to the Oxford Comma where it is religiously used. My writing style tends to follow patterns of speech rather than any strict form, so a lot ofContinue reading “A Writing Tip to Help with Commas”

I’m just finishing up an online editing course, and let me tell you, talking about editing is talking about grammar. As writers, it’s important to pay attention to things like voice, tone, style, character development, and plot; but none of your message gets across if it’s hidden behind poor grammar; i.e. when the reader realizesContinue reading “A Writing Tip to Help with Grammar”

You know those dreaded ice breakers in new group settings where you’re asked to “share a fun fact”? Mine’s always been easy. Up until 2021, I would tell people I was working on publishing my book. The non-writers always gave the same reaction. Big eyes, an impressed smile, and then end up saying something like,Continue reading “A Writing Tip on How to be a Good Editor”

I don’t know about you, but this is my perpetual state of existence. Or at least, this is what I strive for when I’m reading. I’m a huge book nerd but it’s the rare book that makes me forget how to function. Where I sit there lost in the world of the story. Where myContinue reading “A Writing Tip to Help your Readers “Can’t Even””

Have you ever surfed? No, well have you ever baked a cake? It’s a little bit like writing in that there is a yin and yang of completing the task. You’re going to need to get comfortable with long bouts of quiet broken up with sudden and intense bursts of action. When you’re surfing, youContinue reading “A Writing Tip to Enjoy the Ebb and Flow of Writing”