Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy A lot of focus gets put on the core conflict of a novel--the main problem the protagonist has to solve to win. It's no wonder since that's the whole point of the book, but sometimes, when we look too hard at the external problems, we miss out on opportunities to let the […]

Penny Sansevieri Instagram has seen staggering growth since Facebook purchased it. And every day, more authors are beginning to use it, with great success, to engage their readers, build their fan base, and sell books. And here’s why: First, it’s simple to use. Second, it’s not nearly as ad-driven (yet) as Facebook, despite being owned […]

Margie Lawson When people talk, subtext happens. Every time. You can’t say one word without sharing subtext. Subtext for dialogue: The psychological message behind the words. When the words and the subtext are incongruent, the truth is in the subtext. In the real world, we factor in subtext all the time. On the page, we […]

Years ago, an instructor at the UCI Writing Project taught me how to identify the "golden lines" in a lesson, article, or book. Golden lines are the phrases, the ideas, the "takeaway" from whatever you're learning in life. Since then, after I attend a class or workshop, I review my notes and handouts, marking the golden lines. With […]

Heather Webb Launching a book—especially a debut—is an utter whirlwind of excitement, sobering facts, and unknowns. (We won’t even touch upon the extreme terror that hits from time to time.) But within this chaos, there are ways to tackle it all and stay sane. Let’s take a look at a few ways I manage a […]