Anne R. Allen's Blog

Agatha Christie in 1910 By Melodie Campbell Some readers of Anne’s blog know that I taught fiction writing at college for over 30 years, going back to the early 90s.  The dialogue below happened so often in class, I could phone it in. Me to adult male student:  “There are no women in your book.  […]

The post Agatha Christie and the Bechdel Test appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.

Does using the em dash mean you’re a robot? by Anne R. Allen Two weeks ago, we ran a guest post here from a South African entrepreneur named Dr. Jeremy Esekow. It was a thoughtful, balanced report on a contest his company had run with human vs. AI stories. I was not prepared for the […]

The post Does the “Shy Girl” AI Accusation Mean Writers Should Stop Using the Em Dash? appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.

  Guest Post by Becca Puglisi Fear is a powerful emotion. That makes it an incredibly potent storytelling tool. When characters feel threatened—physically, emotionally, or psychologically—the stakes go up, and suddenly, every choice, reaction, and perception matters. Fear taps into something primal, activating survival instincts in the character and empathy in the reader, creating an […]

The post AMPLIFYING TENSION IN FEAR-DRIVEN SCENES appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.

by Jeremy Esekow A few months ago, my company, Storywise, ran a writing competition that felt slightly reckless, but completely necessary. We pitted humans against AI storytelling. I came into this from two very personal places. First, as an author. I’ve sent out countless query letters over the years. Most were met with silence. Second, […]

The post AI Storytelling vs. Human: Who Writes Better? 5 Takeaways from AI vs. Human Contest appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.

   by Anne R. Allen The mistakes new writers make are pretty universal. I’m pretty sure I made all of them. I foisted my fledging work on everybody, my friends, online acquaintances, and even the occasional date. Most were kinder than they needed to be. But I also lost some friends. So here’s what happens […]

The post New Writers–Are You Making Any of These 4 Newbie Writer Mistakes? appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.

  By Anne R. Allen This is an updated version of a post from 2023, but there are so many more scammers approaching us now, writers need to be hyper-vigilant. Unfortunately, a lot of new writers often know very little about the publishing industry and how it works, and they’re usually full of hope and […]

The post 10 Facts Writers Need to Know to Stay Safe from Scammers appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.

  By Anne R. Allen The self-publishing boom of the past 15 years has been a gift to the scam community. Authors aren’t the only targets of scams, of course, but we have become easy prey. I used to say there are twice as many scammers making money off of writers as there are writers […]

The post New Scam Alerts for Authors appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.

  by Anne R. Allen I recently had a strong reminder of the importance of the first impression. I’m still recovering from my December bout of pneumonia, which put me in the hospital for several days. My recovery from the hospital may take more time than my recovery from pneumonia. Why? Because everybody at the […]

The post Are Your Fictional Characters Making the Right First Impression? appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.

  by Anne R. Allen It’s the darkest day of the year. Which means it will get lighter from now until summer.  🙂 Should we try to write through the darkness? Sometimes writing can keep you going through the holidays, but treating the rule “Write Every Day” as if it is set in stone can […]

The post Happy Solstice! May Your Writing be Merry and Bright. appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.

by Anne R. Allen I’m home from the hospital recovering from pneumonia. But as we come to the final chapter of 2025, I thought I’d post some of my tips from earlier posts on how to end your novel or memoir. If you’re like most writers, you may have trouble getting that final chapter to […]

The post Writing the Final Chapter: How to Write a Satisfying Ending of your Novel or Memoir appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.