#InkRipples: Why I’ve always been drawn to villains

#InkRipples
This week I'm joining the wonderful Mary Waibel, Kai Strand, and Katie L. Carroll for this month’s #InkRipples challenge, and we're talking about heroes & villains. Those of you who follow me on the social medias (@DiannaLGunn on Twitter or d_l_gunn on Instagram) won't be surprised that I've chosen to focus on the villains. You see, I've always been drawn to them. Villains fascinate me, and often I find myself empathizing more with them than with the heroes. Today we're going to talk about why. (more…)
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#InkRipples: 5 Tips for working with beta readers, critique partners & editors

#InkRipples
Today I'm joining the wonderful Mary Waibel, Kai Strand, and Katie L. Carroll for this month’s #InkRipples challenge, and we're talking about revision. I've already shared 5 Lessons I learned revising Keeper of the Dawn, but I've realized I still have a lot more to say. So this week I'm going to tackle a big subject: dealing with feedback. Shall we get started? (more…)
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#InkRipples: Challenging the Unfeeling “Strong Character” Stereotype

#InkRipples
Today I'm joining the wonderful Mary Waibel, Kai Strand, and Katie L. Carroll for this month’s #InkRipples posts, and we're talking all about tropes in fiction. I've decided to share a story about my own experience with one of the most common tropes, the "strong" character who only feels anger. This month's #InkRipples post is highly personal and includes references to addiction and self harm. Skip to "What's the point" if you want to avoid this content. (more…)
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#InkRipples: The fun of choosing a subgenre for your work

#InkRipples
Today I'm joining the wonderful Mary Waibel, Kai Strand, and Katie L. Carroll for this month’s #InkRipples posts, and we're talking all about genres, the categories we use to organize media. With my first book coming out in just a few months and a long line of projects preparing for self publication in the next few years, I've spent a lot of time thinking about genre lately. So much time that I've actually had four completely different ideas for this article(and I may well end up writing at least one more article about genres). For me, genre has always been easy. I am a fantasy writer who dabbles in science fiction and the occasional horror. These are genres I know well, genres I've loved as long as I've been reading. What is more…
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#InkRipples — Who should design your book covers?

#InkRipples
This year I've decided to participate in the #InkRipples challenge, a quest to complete 12 themed blog posts throughout the year. Created by the lovely Katie L. Carroll, Kai Strand, and Mary Waibal, #InkRipples is a great way for writers to create a community conversation AND to make sure their blog is consistently updated. And January's conversation is all about book covers. I've actually been thinking a lot about book covers lately, partially because I'm excited to see the cover art my publisher chooses for Good Bye but more because I've decided to self publish most (potentially all) of my other work, starting with a novelette, and that means it's my job to make sure I have the best cover art possible. As an indie author I have two options: pay…
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