Sue Ward Drake I recently spoke on a panel at Romance Writers of America national conference on writing disabled characters. I was asked to present because I had previously worked with the conference for permission to have a transcriber at workshops because I’m deaf. At my recent presentation, an audience member asked if I thought […]

Jamie Raintree There has been one goal I've spent my entire writing life trying to accomplish and failing miserably at: waking up early to write. Over the years, many challenges have played a role in keeping me from mastering this habit. First, it was simply not having a reason to get up that early. I've […]

Dawn Ius I’m going to let you in on a little secret—I didn’t land my agent from a slush pile. Mandy Hubbard—founder of Emerald City Literary Agency and affectionately known by me as Agent Awesome—never read a single sentence of a query from me. No full manuscript. No verbal pitch at a conference. No gushing […]

Aimie K. Runyan It’s true, the vast majority of us writers are introverts. Interactions with strangers are uncomfortable at best… and when you have to ask for a favor? Fuggedaboudit. But the truth is that writers must also advocate for themselves in various ways if they want to succeed both artistically and commercially. We can’t […]

Sierra Godfrey and Kasey Corbit  I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not in any way spiritual or mystical. I’m also a pretty dedicated plotter, with some pantser allowances. But I’m always on the lookout for useful writing and plotting tools. Then, one day last spring, I attended a writer’s retreat among the redwoods on […]