by Kate M. Colby Whether you’re a beginning writer or a seasoned veteran, writing can be scary. Fiction authors put out original imaginings that often hold deeper truths (or are falsely judged to reveal something about the writer). Nonfiction authors declare themselves an authority on a topic, who readers depend upon for knowledge… Read More Writing Through Your Fear
by Savannah Cordova “Failures are just learning opportunities that have presented themselves successfully.” If you’ve come across that sentiment before, it’s probably because there are countless quotes from numerous successful people about the value of making mistakes. If you’ve read a few self-help books or follow any motivational influencers in Instagram, it may… Read More 5 Common Writing and Publishing Mistakes First-Time Authors Make
by Josh Langston Most of us have had moments in our lives when something bad happened. The scale of “bad” is incredibly broad. It stretches from forgettable to life-changing and covers a staggering array of situations, actions, reactions, and consequences. For memoir writers, there’s a strong temptation to downplay if not ignore such episodes.… Read More Edit Your Writing–Don’t Edit Your Life
by Ryan Lanz Writers use dialogue tags constantly. In fact, we use them so often that readers all but gloss over them. They should be invisible. However, there are ways to misuse them and make them stand out. In an effort to avoid that, let’s take a closer look at dialogue tags. Toward… Read More The Dos and Don’ts of Dialogue Tags
by Doug Lewars Consider a scene in which a CEO is meeting with some senior executives. Of interest to the story are a couple of individuals – say John and Frank. There are, however, say eight people in the meeting. Presumably we need to know something about the CEO but there are five… Read More How Much to Show of Side Characters
by ARHuelsenbeck Now that you’ve registered for the conference of your dreams, what’s next?
by Sheree Crawford A good novel has three main elements; characters, a plot, and an over-arching threat. Much as structure is distinct from plot so too is threat distinct from conflict, but you need it all to create a really good novel. Well, you need all four to create a publishable novel. If… Read More Threat: What It Is and Why Your Story Needs It
