Don't you just love it when a line in a book so good, that you just have to stop reading to appreciate it for a few minutes? Me too.  I think that's part of the reason I began writing - to, just once - write one of those sentences.  You can find them scattered throughout […]

Last month I did a post on how to build a strong online brand and the two most popular questions surprised me. The most common was: "What do I talk about?" Remember, that's what your 100 word cloud is for. (Click that link in the first line if you don't know what I'm talking about. We'll […]

Colleen M. Story I recently spent a good six months struggling to make progress on my next novel. The sole reason: I couldn’t hear what my writer’s intuition was telling me. In an effort to solve the problem, I returned to craft, seeking solutions in plot, characterization, and timelines. All of my efforts produced a […]

Susan Spann As a publishing lawyer, I often hear from authors hoping to terminate old (or unfortunate) publishing contracts and obtain a reversion of rights to their works. Rights reversion is tricky, especially when the contract doesn’t give the author the right to terminate without the publisher’s agreement or approval. However, it’s important for authors […]

Angela Ackerman Taking the time to choose the right setting for each scene is one of the best ways to ensure our writing has impact. Why? Because the setting touches everything. It can characterize the story’s cast, evoke mood, generate conflict, shape the plot, and even use symbols and emotional triggers to show readers what […]