photo credit: cellar_door_films via photopin cc I don’t write a scene until I know why I’m writing it, what happens, and how it’s advancing the plot, or the characters. Not because I’m so exacting, but because I hate edits with the zeal of an over-caffeinated Mary Kay rep. No, really. I aspire to the Linda […]

 You know I’m the cheerleader of the WITS bunch, right? I’m the old lady jumping up and down on the sidelines in a too-short skirt so tight that the zipper won’t go up all the way, yelling my head off, telling writers they can DO this! Anyone who follows me on Twitter knows that every […]

By Laura Drake Think back. Waaaay back, to when you first decided you wanted to write. You sat down, maybe at a computer, maybe with a pen and napkin, or even (in my case) on the back of a motorcycle, and wove a story in your head. Remember how excited you were? Everything seemed possible. […]

by Laura Drake Okay, I admit it. I’m prejudiced against dialogue tags. Yes, I know they say, ‘He said/she said’ are invisible to the reader. They're not to me. Even if you don’t share my pet peeve, why settle for something so boring? You write a sparkling line of dialogue, and slap ‘he said’ on […]

By Chuck Sambuchino How does a literary agent define their “ideal client”? The question is extremely important because it’s one that factors into an agent’s mindset before and after they sign you. If an agent has read your complete novel or book proposal and wants to sign you, the next step is almost always to […]