Have you ever started a project that other people thought was impossible? That you thought was impossible? How about something that wasn’t impossible, but would take a long time to finish, like going to college? As an adult, I understand that my life is the sum of every decision I’ve made, even the small ones. […]

Jami Gold Thousands of writers have joined the chaos of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) with the goal to write 50,000 words during the month of November. NaNo can be a great motivator, as we all cheer each other on and watch our word count increase. I’ve completed two books during NaNo and will be […]

Angela Ackerman One of the most important jobs we have as writers is to always push the story forward, forcing our protagonist to act. This isn’t always easy. Characters, like people, fight change and personal growth because it makes them feel vulnerable and can be emotionally painful. The fact is, it’s always easier to stay […]

Everyone knows what I call the 10,000 foot edit – it’s the content/developmental edit – it’s looking at your story from a plane, to spot the plot mountains and canyons that need to be fixed. Genre no-no's? Unsatisfying ending? That night with the weasel scene? Everyone knows about ground level edits – copy/line/stylistic edits that […]

Margie Lawson I am uber-impressed with the WITS blog and the WITS bloggers. I’m always honored to be a guest. Thank you!  Most writers know to avoid clichés. Every basic how-to book for writers includes a section on avoiding clichés. Those experts refer to clichés as lazy writing. So do I. Clichés represent weak writing. […]