Interested in writing and publishing quality fiction?
Welcome To Aspiring Writer Academy!
We are Darlene & Samantha, the mother-daughter team who co-founded this site to help writers improve their craft, publish their work, and build an author platform. We share our knowledge from years of experience working with both traditional and self-publishing. We also offer tech tips and how-to tutorials to help you excel at blogging, social media, and marketing.
Our Goal for Aspiring Writer Academy is to help people learn how to write quality fiction, teach them to publish and promote their work, and to give them the necessary tools to pursue a writing career.
We Believe All Authors Can Aspire to Take Their Writing to the Next Level!
Who Are We?
Darlene Teaches Everything She Knows About Writing
Hi! I love teaching aspiring writers and talking about all things writer-related. I am a multi-published author of over 16 novels and novellas, which includes both contemporary and historical romance, (and even a few children's picture books.) I have always loved to write, but my career launched with THE BET, included in bestselling author Debbie Macomber's FAMILY AFFAIR in 2012. An expanded version titled, BET YOU'LL MARRY ME, became a finalist for RWA's Greater Detroit Best Book Award. Other works include THE CUPCAKE DIARIES series and the MONTANA HEARTS series, with Avon/HarperCollins, and three historical novellas with Barbour Publishing. I teach classes at workshops and conferences and have mentored many aspiring writers to write and publish a book from start to finish.
Visit her author website at: https://darlenepanzera.com/
Samantha Covers the Tech and Marketing Side of Aspiring Writer Academy
Hey there, I specialize in helping writers promote and market their books. I have a technical arts degree in integrated multimedia and certificates in photography and photoshop but most of my knowledge and skills are self-taught from years of hands-on experience working as a graphic designer, photographer, website designer, and social media manager for many small businesses. I have spent countless hours online studying, attending workshops, and taking online courses.
I teach social media, marketing, and how to create a blog/website that can help you build brand authority and show you how to make profits in the process. I love explaining all about the latest tech and marketing tips so you can promote your books and build an author platform.
I also run a money-making travel blog called Adventure Hike Travel where I earn an income selling my own hiking clothing line in addition to earning revenue from banner ads and commissions from affiliate links promoting products that I love using on my own adventures.
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How Can We Help You?
Learn to Write Quality Fiction
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Recent Blog Posts
10 Tips for Using Flashbacks in Your Fictional Novel
A flashback in a fictional novel is a scene that happened in the past to show characterization, motivation, or explain a facet of the present story. But how do you transition in and out of a flashback scene? How many are too many? Are there rules to writing flashbacks?
In 10 Tips for Using Flashbacks in Your Fictional Novel, we discuss how to write clear, concise, plot-driven flashback scenes that will strengthen the story and hook your reader.
How to Use Framing Techniques in Your Fictional Novel
The term ‘Framing’ or using ‘Bookends’ refers to a technique in novel writing where the author creates similar passages at the start and finish of a story, or individual chapter or scene. Similar, but different. It is the tiny changes that give your story that exciting twist, satisfying closure, or added meaning.
In How to Use Framing Technique in Your Fictional Novel, we show you how to use framing on three levels to improve your writing skills, enhance your story, and thrill readers.
How to Create a Deadline for Your Fictional Novel
The difference between a goal and a dream is that a goal has a deadline, a targeted finish date. Is it your goal to write and finish a book? Do you have an action plan? Or does the whole process feel overwhelming? Even if you do not have a book contract you should aim for a date of completion to help keep you on track.
In our post, How to Create a Deadline for Your Fictional Novel, we show you how to calculate your finish date and set up milestones to mark your progress toward a finished book.
Learn to Plot Fiction Writing Series: Story Analysis of the movie “Jurassic World”
The best way to learn story structure is to analyze good stories. Can you readily identify each plot point in every movie you see or book you read? Or do terms like ‘inciting incident,’ ‘midpoint reversal,’ and ‘black moment’ leave you confused?
In our Learn to Plot Fiction Writing Series: Story Analysis of the movie “Jurassic World” we show you how to recognize each element and provide a Free Plot Template so you can draft satisfying, high-quality stories of your own.
Fiction Writing: Create Character Profiles (with Free Questionnaire)
If you are planning to write a new story or need to add a character to your fiction novel, a handy fill-in-the-blank questionnaire can help define your character’s personality in a flash.
Beyond name, age, and hair color, our post, Fiction Writing: Create Character Profiles (with Free Questionnaire) helps you identify personality traits for your cast of characters that strengthen the story, intensify conflict, and enhance the plot.
Top 7 Books to Make You a Super-Productive Writer
Looking for a way to crank out more written pages? Or wish you could find more time to write in general? Is your calendar or overly ambitious to-do list out of control? How can you write more books if you are always tired, overwhelmed, and feeling like you are always behind?
Our post, 7 Best Books on Productivity to Boost Your Fiction Writing to the Next Level, can help you discover ways to reduce stress, organize your day, and make you more productive than you ever thought possible.
How to Boost Your Productivity and Get Your Novel Written
Do you have trouble finding time to write? Or do you wish you could increase your daily wordcount but find personal obligations and the other things on your to-do list keep getting in the way? Do you procrastinate? Do you find yourself eager to get your pages written then get derailed by interruptions?
In our post, How to Boost Your Productivity and Get Your Novel Written, we give you tips and advice to set up the right habits that will allow you to focus, take back your time, and write.
How to Write a Novel with the W-Plot Template
Do you struggle with plotting? A simple, easy-to-follow template for writing a fictional story is the W-Plot, perfect for both new writers and non-plotters. The W-Plot structure allows you freedom to create yet keeps your story on track all the way to that grand satisfying end.
In our post, How to Write a Novel with the W-Plot Template, we break down each step to take the frustration out of plotting and give you tips to write a story readers will love.
Fiction Writing: What is a Character’s ‘Ordinary World?’
Does your character live in a world where animals talk? Does he fly a spaceship to work? Or does his ‘ordinary world’ include monsters or a unique culture with specific rules and questionable beliefs?
In our post, Fiction Writing: What is a Character’s ‘Ordinary World?’ we show you how to give the reader the set-up pieces needed to understand your character and how he fits in with his environment before the external events of the plot unfold.
How to Create S.M.A.R.T. Goals to Keep Your Writing on Track
Do you set goals with your writing only to have them derailed? Do you have trouble finishing a novel or with time management in general? How is an author supposed to maintain a personal life, do household chores, and write—publish—promote their stories without feeling overwhelmed or run ragged? In our post, How to Create S.M.A.R.T. Goals to Keep Your Writing on Track, we show you how to eliminate frustration and hit the needed milestones to write and finish your fictional story.
How to Use Themes in Your Fictional Story
Do you know your story’s theme? Or the difference between a theme and a moral? A theme is the glue that holds your story together and without one, your readers may find themselves scratching their heads wondering what your story is really about.
In our post, How to Use Themes in Your Fictional Story, we give examples of theme, how to weave theme into your story for greater focus, and the right and wrong way to reveal theme at the end of your fictional masterpiece.
Fiction Writing: What is a Pinch Point?
As an aspiring writer, it is hard enough to learn how to develop an interesting character and plot a fictional story that captures a reader’s interest. But what is a pinch point? How many are there in a fictional story and how are they used? Many seasoned writers do not even know!
In Fiction Writing: What is a Pinch Point? we demystify the term and show how inserting significant emotion-packed pinch points into your fictional story can help motivate characters to pursue their story goal.
Learn to Plot Fiction Writing Series: Story Analysis of the movie “Marry Me”
The best way to learn story structure is to analyze good stories. Can you readily identify each plot point in every movie you see or book you read? Or do terms like ‘inciting incident,’ ‘midpoint reversal,’ and ‘black moment’ leave you confused? In our Learn to Plot Fiction Writing Series: Story Analysis of the movie “Marry Me” we show you how to recognize each element and provide a Free Plot Template so you can draft satisfying, high-quality stories of your own.
7 Tips for Writing a Story Synopsis
Ask any writer about the dreaded story ‘synopsis’ and you will most likely hear lots of moans and groans. How do you condense the plot of an entire book into just 2 or 3 pages? What should be included? How should it be formatted? How should characters be introduced?
Join us as we discuss 7 Tips to Write a Story Synopsis to help simplify the process so that you can confidently and successfully write a story synopsis with ease.
NaNoWriMo: How to Write a 50k Word Novel in 30 Days
November is National Novel Writing Month, a time when thousands of writers around the world will attempt to write a 50,000-word novel in 30 days. You can sign up for the free challenge at https://nanowrimo.org/ and use their digital graphs and charts to track your progress and keep you accountable each day. But how can you write a novel so quickly? In our post, NaNoWriMo: How to Write a 50k Word Novel in 30 Days, we give you a list of helpful tips to keep you on target and finish a winner!
