Now and then, I meet a multi-published, award-winning author whom I haven’t read before and ask, “Which book of yours should I read first?” They rarely suggest their debut book. Quite often, they’ll say something like, “My first books were okay, but I really hit my stride with [fabulous book title].” If they suggest the […]

Angela Ackerman Writers are encouraged to dig into their hero or heroine’s past to understand what factors (including wounding events) are steering their behavior and motivation in the story. By doing this we can ensure our protagonist’s goal aligns with the unmet need driving them, tailor challenges that will force them to face specific fears, […]

Janice Hardy For some writers, a blank page is a scary thing to face. Others see all that white space as an opportunity, and can't wait to dive in and tell their story. The vast majority of us probably fall somewhere in between, with some ideas making us eager to write, and some fighting us […]

Finding a critique group/partner (I call them 'critters') is one of the most frustrating things about being a writer. Then, when you find the perfect one, and life intervenes, and they drift away.  Don't you hate when that happens? So I thought it might help if I laid out the rules for a  perfect crit […]

Penny Sansevieri If you’ve ever built a website, you know that it can take a lot of time, effort and planning. And that’s before you get the SEO rolling. And with Google and other search engines constantly changing the way they crawl through sites, SEO rules change frequently as well. It can be hard to […]