Deconstructing Deadly Illusions—What Not to Do With Your Manuscript

By Bonnie Randall

Part of The How They Do It Series 

JH: The smart writer learns from the mistakes of others. Bonnie Randall shares what went wrong with a story that made plenty of them, and how we can avoid those same mistakes.

Friends, because I’m a little salty these days, and because Netflix is a quadra-gajillion-earning empire (and therefore will not, in any way, suffer from this tiny hit piece), I decided to deconstruct one of their latest movies—a total stinkeroo called Deadly Illusions—in order to illustrate what not to do with your story.

So, if you’re prepared to hear a little snark, here we go:

5 Reasons Our Characters Need to Fail

By Bethany Henry

Part of the How They Do It Series

JH: In a novel, failure is actually a good thing. Bethany Henry shares reasons why our characters need to fail in order for us to win.

Bethany Henry writes fantasy novels and blogs about writing and wellness at bethany-henry.com. When not writing, she can often be found on the frisbee field, drinking tea, or reading picture books with her two little girls. Sign up for her email list for weekly posts on writing craft- along with fun extras like quotes and freebies.

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Take it away Bethany...

Memorable Author Screw-Ups

By Jana Oliver, @crazyauthorgirl

Part of the Indie Authors Series

Mistakes. We all make them. Sometimes we don't even realize that we do, and other times they're so horrendous we still have nightmares about them. Here are some of mine over the last sixteen years because sometimes the best way to avoid a mistake is reading about someone else’s.