Victoria Allen

This post will be a little different today. Instead of giving you editorial tidbits, I’m going to talk about an event that’s going to take place this week for myself and my friends. We will all be jumping in our cars and driving 3-4+ hours to reach an incredible place where we will spend the [...]

In addition to the birthdays, quote and tips, I’m happy to announce the print version of my futuristic romance, Danger on Xy-One, is available from Ellora’s Cave Blush. It’s been available as an ebook, but now will be in print format as well. The publisher is Ellora’s Cave found in their “Blush” line (the non-erotic [...]

Today is “Hug a G.I.” day – actually, for what they do and endure, that should be every day. Thank you to the men and women of the Armed Forces. Birthdays: Alan Sillitoe, Johann Wyss I’m not overly familiar with Sillitoe, though I should be, but Johann Wyss? Even if you don’t know the name, [...]

Birthdays: Emile-Auguste Chartier, Sidney Lanier Okay, I have to admit, I’ve never heard of either of these authors. But I did look the up when their names appeared on the birthday list. Interesting people. Go ahead, check them out. Lanier was a well-known American poet who has a school in Alabama named after him. And [...]

Birthdays: John Irving, Philip K. Dick, John Jay Chapman, Theodor Geisel Okay, I’ve heard of all of these, but my favorite is Theodor Geisel, aka Dr.Seuss. His lessons in silly rhymes educated and amused me for years, and still do. As a young librarian, my students used to challenge me to see how fast I [...]

Wow, it’s March 1st already. Where has the time gone? Are you on track with your goals for the year? I’m a little behind, but I’m getting there. Thought for the day: “Writing can’t be taught, but if the natural talent is there, it can be improved.” – Rod McKuen Birthdays: Ralph Ellison, Robert Lowell, [...]

Birthdays: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, John Steinbeck, Irwin Shaw Longfellow was a popular poet and writer whose work has stood the test of time. From “The Song of Hiawatha” to “Evangeline”, his lyrical verse sings as well today as it did in his era. Like Longfellow, Steinbeck’s prose has stayed in the forefront for decades. There [...]

It’s time to create characters for your story. Characters bring your story to life. They are who the reader wants to read about. Pick up any newspaper – what catches your eye first? It’s usually a story about a person. Yes, there may be a fire or a flood or something else horrific happening, but [...]

What do I write? You may be one of those lucky people who can sit down and just start writing and the words just flow – but there’s no adhesion. It’s just a bunch of words that have nothing behind them. Your characters don’t interact with each other, your timeline is all over the place, [...]

I was looking at my blogs and realizing how little I post here, so I’m going to try something new. I am going to post weekly (I hope!) tips on writing your own book. These are tips and ideas I’ve gleaned over the years from workshops, books, and conferences and I’m going to condense them [...]