by Erin Brown You’ve slaved for months, years—perhaps decades--to finish your manuscript. You’ve tackled all-nighters, tear-your-hair-out rewrites, grueling self-imposed deadlines. You’ve grappled with creative juices that either flowed until you were drunk with brilliant narrative or dried up to leave you parched, devoid of inspiration, sobbing onto your keyboard. You get my drift. You’ve poured […]

Just a quick reminder: Laura is teaching a class at Margie Lawson's Writers Academy for the month of September - Submissions that Sell!  If you need help on your submission, check it out! Now, here's Lori! By Lori Nelson Spielman I typed The End and did a little happy dance in my office. I’d finished […]

by Fae Rowen As writers, we can use our lives to fuel our stories in many ways--from plots, to characters, to emotional journeys. This means that our daily lives become a field of rich experience to mine for writing gold. Let me share an excursion that resulted in unexpected treasure for my WIP. Because I […]

By Sharla Rae Some writers brainstorm on their own, some do it with another writer or a group of writers. My personal favorite is 'what-ifing' with my critique group. Along the way I learned a few things. I think the biggest lesson was that if I walked away disappointed, it was probably my own fault. […]

Shannon Donnelly is back this month with a topic that I have spoken with other authors about, but never seen in a blog before. I can't wait to read the comments, to see what you all think!  Here's Shannon: Something happens when you read a lot—very often stories come to you. A lot of folks […]