by Amy Sue Nathan Writing dialogue gets a character out of my head (and his or hers) and alive on the page in a conversation with other characters, and ostensibly, with the reader. It’s one of my favorite parts of novel writing. To make sure I keep my dialogue realistic, serving my story and my […]

The good news is I survived eight days of hiking in Yosemite. The better news is I got great pictures of a setting for some important scenes in my WIP. The best news is that I had a wide range of deeply emotional experiences that will help me write with a deeper understanding of what my […]

Adria J. Cimino The biggest complaint about my debut novel, Paris, Rue des Martyrs? All of the “Claires.” Two extremely minor characters—a shopkeeper we see a couple of times and another person who is mentioned once but never seen—were named Claire. Another minor character was named Clara. Since these characters made so few appearances and […]

Margie Lawson Most writers know Show Don’t Tell, but sometimes they think they’re showing when they are telling. Here’s my oh-so-easy check. Read the sentence that you think SHOWS the reader something. Ask yourself ---- What’s the Visual? You may be surprised that the sentence doesn’t provide a visual. Wondering why I care? Wondering why […]

Susan Spann “Royalties” is the publishing industry term for money paid to an author (generally, by a publisher) on sales of a published work. Most authors receive the bulk of their writing income from royalties, which makes them a critical feature of publishing contracts. How are Royalties Calculated? Royalties vary from contract to contract, and […]