Author: Hank Phillippi Ryan

Writing Prompt: The Obituary

Posted by Hank Phillippi Ryan | Jul 1, 2018 | Craft, Writing Prompts

Alfred Nobel, inventor of dynamite, had a bizarre and life-changing experience: seeing his own obituary. It changed his life.

Confessions of a Television Reporter

Posted by Hank Phillippi Ryan | Jun 25, 2018 | Craft

Thinking in pictures, in video, in cinematography, can make your stories come to life. So how do you do that in your book?

Writing Prompt: Have Hero, Will Travel

Posted by Hank Phillippi Ryan | Jun 24, 2018 | Craft, Writing Prompts

You know where you’d like to go this summer if time and money were no object, but do you know where your protagonist would go?

Writing Prompt: Fire!

Posted by Hank Phillippi Ryan | Jun 17, 2018 | Craft, Writing Prompts

The fire alarm blares. Your character awakens in the middle of the night panicked and terrified. She races outside, dialing 911 on the way. Looks back through the open door. Oh no! Still inside is her precious….what?

How to End Your First Chapter

Posted by Hank Phillippi Ryan | Jun 13, 2018 | Craft

If the reader doesn’t feel irresistibly compelled to turn the page at the end of chapter one, you are – how shall I put it – doomed. How can you hit your first chapter ending out of the ballpark?

What Promotional Items Do Authors Really Need?

Posted by Hank Phillippi Ryan | May 23, 2018 | Marketing

I’ve seen authors spend their hard-earned advances—or even pre-paid in advance of a hoped for advance. Look at it with an accountant’s eyes: is spending money on giveaway loot a financially sound decision?