by Christina Delay How do we keep moving forward when life decides to TP our plans? In other words, how do we keep going when we hit creative burnout? In a season that my daughter likes to call “candy-tastic,” it may feel like we must throw candy around like everything’s peachy, but inside we’re dealing […]

    Thank you, brave soul, for trusting me with your work. I hope you find this helpful.   I chose this month's submission to help explain a closer POV. This reads like a movie script. It is omniscient POV (mostly), which was great in the 1800's, but today's reader wants an immersive experience...they want […]

by Amy Shojai I didn’t set out to be a writer. I’m where I am due to a perfect storm of pet-love, frustration, boredom, and lack of funds. *s* Oh, and luck, a whole lot of furry good luck. THE ACCIDENTAL WRITER My publishing career began when my husband and I moved to the mountains […]

Turning Whine Into Goldby Kathryn Craft   Earlier this year I ran across a social media post by Lauren Vaknine that evokes a concern so common among writers I thought we might discuss it here (used with permission): “I watched the film Goodbye Christopher Robin last night, and seeing the adoration [A.A. Milne] got from […]

by Lisa Hall-Wilson Life is hard and as writers, we aren’t doing our jobs unless our characters struggle. Am I right? Good fiction isn’t borne out in the comfortable and easy living we might dream about, but in the tension and conflict between characters and/or their own desires. Giving a character a backstory that includes trauma […]