I first learned about Golden Lines the summer I attended the UCI Summer Writing Institute. After a particularly dense morning lecture, we were told to extract the golden lines, the ideas that we could use to improve our writing. Every year after the RWA Conference, I like to share the Golden Lines I've highlighted from […]

Two days ago, in Part One of this three-part series, I began sharing how to use The Five Thieves of Happiness by John Izzo in our writing to provide inner conflict for our characters. I only had "time" in the first post to share one "thief." In this post I'll share two more. (Why do I […]

If you’ve been reading Writers in the Storm for any length of time, you know that I’m a proponent of using what you do—what happens to you, what you think and believe—in your writing. A year ago, I wrote about using your summer memories in your writing. Today I'm sharing one of my first summer […]

Yesterday I opened an e-mail from a source that I usually delete without reading.  I'd purchased something from a "sister" company a month ago, and it seems that every week a new spin-off email touting the same information I'd wanted when I bought that resource book lands in my inbox. And though some of the […]

This is a true story:  I looked out my window this morning, as I always do while drinking my breakfast protein shake. In the heavier than usual wind, the prayer flags flapped loudly. Through the narrow gaps of brightly-colored material I saw a profusion of blooming tropical flowers. Behind them, a mermaid sat on her […]