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. […]

Les Edgerton This week at WITS we are on a roll with the key characters in your story. Monday was 10 Tips for a Strong Protagonist from Shannon Donnelly. Today is a fantastic in-depth post from Les Edgerton. His last article for us was about how character's actions determine both their character and their character […]

Shannon Donnelly I’ve been reading some manuscripts lately that have trouble sorting out the protagonist, so this seems worthy of a blog. The protagonist—your central character—needs to be worthy of a story. The protagonist also needs enough going on to carry the story. One of the big problems I see in a lot of romances […]

Nicole Winters Years ago, I remember listening to writers lament about the perils of research. I thought, how terrible to psych yourself out of a wonderful story before you’ve even begun. Now, before I continue, let’s be clear, what I do is probably more suitable for the contemporary fiction writer. Someone who, say, wants to […]

Fae Rowen Three weeks ago I wrote about writing lessons I'd received from the kittens I'm fostering. Well, tomorrow I "surrender" them back to the shelter. Now that everyone, including their stellar mom, is larger and more active, I'd like to share some "larger" lessons. around with joy and curiosity, they huddled together in a corner. […]