by Margie Lawson

Have you ever researched writing rules? Wowzee! There are hundreds of them. If you tried to follow them all you’d be paralyzed.

But some are so make-you-and-your-writing-stronger smart, they’re worth sharing.

I’ve pulled together writing rules from several authors:  Stephen King, Jodi Picoult, Maya Angelou, Jack London, Elmore Leonard, and Neil Gaiman. … Read the post

By Margie Lawson

Titles may make books bestsellers or doom them to be shelf-dwellers.

Aack! Feeling the pressure to create a winning title?

I’m here to help. I’ll cover:

• What Could Sabotage Your Title?
• Titles and Traditional Publishing
• The Evolution of a Title
• Margie’s Top Six Tips for a Selling Title
• Two Stories of Before and After Titles
• The Challenge of One-Word Titles
• The Power of Linking Series Titles

What Could Sabotage Your Title?

by Margie Lawson

A hug is more than just a hug.

Hugs may be long or short, hot or cold, loving or perfunctory.

Hugs carry psychological messages. Do you have those messages on your pages?

Dig deep—and you’ll have more fun and depth and power on the page.… Read the post

by Margie Lawson

You may have read portions of this blog on WITS in 2012. It’s still a winner.

Writers are all powerful. Well, in their fictional worlds they are all powerful.

Two of the 74,386 story dynamics that writers control are expanding time and compressing time.… Read the post

by Margie Lawson

Why a blog about hugs?

Because on the page a hug may be blah-blah. But it could carry this kind of power.

Her arms wrapped around me like chains, her whispered words the lock sealing my fate.

Wow.… Read the post