by Kelsie Engen

What is one valuable lesson you’ve learned since you started writing?

That’s a hard one, because I feel like I’ve learned many things the more I write.

In fact, writing is one of those things that makes you learn, even if you want to or not.

Or perhaps it just takes an extraordinarily stubborn person to not learn something while learning a new skill in order to truly not learn anything new. ; -)

So in the interest of brevity, I’ll share the three top lessons I’ve learned as a writer.

Continue reading 3 Valuable Lessons I’ve Learned from Writing →

by Whitney Carter

Putting grief into words is futile. And trying to do so would bankrupt the vocabulary of all languages. -Mark Twain

Grief is a heavy and relatively ever-present part of life. Just as surely as we are born, we have to die too. While it’s true you and I, by virtue of sitting here, are still alive, we’ve all had to say goodbye to someone, and regardless of how deeply felt that loss might have been, grief changes who we are on a fundamental level. It makes us question our existence, how we function on a daily basis and what we really want for the short time left to us.

Continue reading How to Write Grieving Characters →

by Julianne Q. Johnson

I was taking part in a conversation between various writers today about word choice. Some participants were arguing the point that using fancier word choices was the way to go. They were quite fierce about it and mentioned how it was nice to build their readers’ vocabulary, and besides, Kindle and the like make it so easy to look up a new word. That’s fine. That’s their writing style.

It’s not mine.

Continue reading On Choosing the Right Word →

by Laura Peters

If you want to make a living as a writer, you need to make sure you’re aware of all the things that are part of that lifestyle. It’s vital to ensure that you’re aware of not just the creative elements, for instance, but also the business side of things and how to take care of yourself along the way.

Continue reading Mastering the Writer’s Life →

by Laura Peters

Whether you’re thinking about writing your life story or you want to write a completely fictional romance novel, it’s so important that you bring your story to life. There are lots of mistakes a new writer can make when crafting a story, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. That’s what the editing process is for! Below are some dos and don’ts that will help you to bring your story to life.

Continue reading Bringing Your Story To Life: Dos And Dont’s →

by Christopher Slater

Just the other day I was watching a movie with my wife. I thought that the movie had potential, but I kept getting really confused during a good portion of it. Terminology, technology, concepts, and relationships that I didn’t understand or had never heard of kept popping up. I was getting lost in trying to figure out some of the minutiae instead of enjoying the storyline of the film.

Continue reading When You Should Add Background to Your Story (and How Much) →

by Steven Capps

Let’s discuss plotting. Not the evil, “let’s take over the world” kind, though I guess that does fit. I’m talking about the events that create a story. Specifically, I’m talking about the events that create my stories and how I go about developing them.

Continue reading Using Short Stories to Plot a Rough Draft →