I was fortunate enough to go to the RWA Conference in New York in July (thank you, Alpha Dog). Between meetings, chatting with friends, and parties, I got to exactly 3 workshops (beat last year, when I got to zero!). But luckily I attended what I'm sure was the BEST of all workshops. I've heard […]

Laurie Schnebly Campbell EVERY story is an adventure. We already know these characters will come face-to-face with all kinds of excitement, challenge and danger--whether that danger involves dastardly villains or a reluctance to fall in love. A lot of readers are thrilled when a story’s main adventure involves bullets, pirates, dragons or floods. Sometimes all […]

For those of you who couldn't attend, every year I share the best, the "golden," writing tips and industry advice from the workshops I attend at the Romance Writers of America conference. Joan Johnston: Sherry Thomas: "Mistakes we Made" Group Panel: Julie Cupp and Christy Reese, on self-publishing: Jennifer Crusie on Metaphor and Motif: Kristan Higgins on […]

Marcy Kennedy   If I took a survey asking writers what the most important elements of fiction were, I’d probably end up with a few consistent answers—plot, characters, dialogue, showing rather than telling. We might not automatically think of including internal dialogue on the list, but we should. Internal dialogue is the heartbeat of fiction. […]

Sierra Godfrey Flashbacks can explain a lot about your character. Adding them into your story often gives the reader a glimpse of the texture that explains why your character does what she does—and goodness knows, we spend a lot of time thinking about how our characters got to where they are when we start telling […]