By Shannon Donnelly

Everyone knows there’s a story arc—story goes up in tension, reaches a peak, and falls down. And there are character arcs, too, since story is character and character is story. But what about your scene arcs? That’s right—every scene needs an arc.… Read the post

Before we get to the awesome Shannon Donnelly, I wanted to be sure you all saw the winner of Tiffany Lawson Inman's critique: Angela Quarles!

By Shannon Donnelly

I just finished reading a story that had a major problem—no sparkage between the hero and heroine.… Read the post

Laura here. I just wanted to squee a moment. The very first book I wrote (and edited 3,457 times,) Her Road Home releases tomorrow!  It earned a RT 4 star review! You can learn more about it on my website.It's available at Amazon, B&N, and other stores.… Read the post

by Shannon Donnelly

Emotion. It’s what we read for in fiction. We want the thrill, the sorrow, the laughter, and the tears. Unfortunately, words are abstracts. Emotions are visceral—they’re in our bodies. That means the illusion to bring about emotion has to be studied and learned.… Read the post

NOTE: Our very own Laura Drake is teaching an online course on "Fearless Pitching," June 10-July 7. Click here for more information.

Now, Let's welcome back Shannon Donnelly!

First lines fall into three categories—hooks, lines, and sinkers.

The sinkers are pretty obvious—they’re the dud lines, the lines that don’t help a reader into the story.… Read the post