Melissa Caruso

Writing Goals for 2018

Whatever else 2017 was (and oh, wow, it was a bunch of things), it was my debut year, and that was an amazing experience. I am so grateful for everyone who helped make it happen, and helped make it wonderful. I do goals instead of resolutions for the new year, because a goal is somethingContinue reading “Writing Goals for 2018”

Predictive Text Chapter

First of all, if you haven’t yet seen Botnik’s Harry Potter chapter written with a predictive text keyboard programmed with all seven books, you should go read it now. It’s the funniest thing I’ve read all year. Then come back and read this post much later, because just about anything will pale in comparison. IContinue reading “Predictive Text Chapter”

Writing Female Characters

I’ve now had a few variants on the question, “How do you write such strong female characters?” This always makes me blink a bit, because you know, they don’t ask people “How do you write such strong male characters?” BUT! It occurred to me that maybe I should actually answer this question in a blogContinue reading “Writing Female Characters”

An Interview With Past Me

I just finished my first month as a published author, and Past Me has some questions for me. Here goes: PAST ME: Holy shit, you did it! You’re a published author! What’s it like? Is your life totally different? Are there beams of light and singing cherubim (A Wind In The Door style, naturally) andContinue reading “An Interview With Past Me”

IT’S HERE!!!

My debut novel is out in the world! HOLY CRAP! It’s been a wild month. My debut moment has both been everything I hoped it would be and nothing like I thought it would be. You have to understand that I’ve wanted to be a published author since I was in kindergarten. For a fairContinue reading “IT’S HERE!!!”

So Many Drafts

Hey there, writers in the trenches! Let’s have a little talk about tweedle beetles drafts. Specifically, numbers of drafts. I know that when I started out writing novels, I had no idea how many drafts a book went through before it got published. Thinking back on it now, I get all Ming the Merciless andContinue reading “So Many Drafts”

Reset to Save

I just turned in the first draft of THE DEFIANT HEIR, Book 2 of Swords & Fire, to my editor today! YAY!!! BUT WAIT! Let’s walk that back. While this is the first draft Lindsey is seeing, this is not even close to the first draft I wrote of this book. In fact, I couldn’tContinue reading “Reset to Save”

Writing On Deadline

Why haven’t you posted in a while, Melissa, you ask? To which I twitch a little, and laugh nervously, and say, why, because Book Two is due at the end of the month and I MUST SPEND EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY WRITING! That’s right, you say, this is your first book written on deadline!Continue reading “Writing On Deadline”

Don’t Forget Your Audience (Especially if they’re ON FIRE)

OKAY GUYS, WRITING RANT TIME! Buckle in for some CAPITAL LETTERS and also LITERAL FIRE! For this rant, I have my day job technical writer hat on, but the general principle applies to fiction, too. It’s about knowing your audience. What does knowing your audience have to do with ACTUAL FIREBALLS? Read on and findContinue reading “Don’t Forget Your Audience (Especially if they’re ON FIRE)”

Don’t Drop That Line

You know what I wish I’d figured out earlier in my writing journey? The importance of through lines. Take right now. I’m working on a revision of THE DEFIANT HEIR (Book 2 of Swords & Fire). I got about two-thirds done with a first draft, then realized I needed to go back and revise beforeContinue reading “Don’t Drop That Line”