June Stevens Westerfield What is an author brand?  Some say it’s the genre you write.  But it’s really not, at least not entirely.  Your brand is what makes you recognizable to readers.  In short, your name is your brand. If you are a romance reader and someone says “Hey, I’m reading the new Nora book,” […]

Angela Ackerman Are you afraid of using the weather in your writing? If so, you're not alone. After all, if not careful, weather description can be a minefield of clichés. The sunny, cloudless afternoon at the beach. The gloomy rainstorm at a funeral. Overdone setting and weather pairings can lie flat on the page. Then […]

"Disneyland! That's the answer." (Fiction 101 -- Drop your reader into the action immediately.) My wife and I went to Disneyland recently. The trip was fun, of course, but it was also a revelation. Suddenly, Nancy turned to me and said, "The essay you are working on for Writers in the Storm! This is it! […]

Susan Spann The year is drawing to a close, but our series on anthology contracts is going strong. Today, it’s time to say “show me the money” - and look at some of the different royalty structures in the anthology world. Some anthologies pay the contributors royalties, while others offer a flat fee, and still […]

Margie Lawson Surprise! Today’s blog is on wrangling time, not words. But don’t stop reading! I added examples from an ARC of THE DIRT ON NINTH GRAVE, by NYT Bestseller, and Immersion-Grad, Darynda Jones. I bet you’ll agree, the examples are super-stellar! I promise to keep the wrangling time part of the blog short. You’ll […]