We've been working hard on resolutions, butt-in-chair, at the gym. Let's reward ourselves with some FUN! Share a favorite paragraph of your current WIP (work-in-progress) in the comments. Give us your title and genre, then your paragraph. Feel free comment on others' as well!   Here's Mine: Hand-Me-Down Dreams, a WF with Romantic Elements: Carly's truck […]

I do a lot of critiquing. As I get better at craft, I’m starting to catch the nuances of good writing; things beyond the basics of POV, show don’t tell, etc. They’re subtler and harder to spot, but I believe they can be the difference between a ‘good writer’ and a popular author. And yes, […]

*First, a caveat: We at WITS take no money from anyone for endorsing products. If you read it here, it's because we use it, and we believe in it.* Okay, button up, because as they say in the vernacular of Texas, I'm fixin' to gush all over you. One of the big surprises when I […]

Autumn always makes me thankful. Maybe it's because of Thanksgiving. Maybe it's because of a memory of a remote cabin in the middle exploding fall colors. Maybe it's the  reminder that I have more to be thankful for than most. I'm thankful for books. Because one saved my life. When people ask me why I began writing, […]

I just taught a class on  Beginning Pages recently, so I’ve been thinking a lot about first lines.  Stephen King had something to say about the magnitude of a novel’s first line: “An opening line should invite the reader to begin the story,” he said. “It should say: Listen. Come in here. You want to know about […]