Author W. Somerset Maugham famously said, "There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are." Maybe there aren't any rules per se, but there are suggestions given often enough that they almost seem like rules for writers. Yet three of those "rules" I regularly break. "Just vomit the words on […]

Valentine's Day is almost here, and at Writers in the Storm, we're marking the occasion with a little "Pimp and Promote." Of course, this always costs us some money, because we have to go out and buy lots of books. But let's go for it! How does this work? To quote the genie in Aladdin, “There […]

Last week, Fae Rowen discussed her reading habits in Beware: Voracious Reading Ahead. Like her, I remember reading way more than my friends and classmates when I was young, devouring every book that came my way. I started with the marvelous for Laura Ingalls Wilder and Nancy Drew. Then a very strange novel in 5th grade […]

I love the idea of a fresh start. There's something so appealing about a new beginning, an uncharted course, a do-over. It's why every year, I make New Year's resolutions and manage to keep many of them. But for the last few years, I've also followed along with the idea of choosing a single word to […]

The blank page doesn’t scare me. I’m one of those writers who has dozens of story ideas, plenty of partially written projects, and fully drafted manuscripts in various stages of editing. However, the daunting task of getting a book all the way to “done!” is more frightening than a weekend marathon of Wes Craven movies. […]