Susan Squires  Recently, I wrote a blog here at WITS about how to put sexual tension in your romance novel. But it felt like only half the story. Sexual tension often leads to…you guessed it…sex. Not all romances have sex in them, but many do. I’ve been teaching a class on writing romance and in […]

I've judged a few contests for published and unpublished authors over the years. Because I entered several contests this year, I paid a lot more attention to the judging process. Reviewing my own scoresheets made me a better judge. At least, I hope so. Things you may not know: 1. Your judge may have entered […]

 Susan Spann Mismanaged (or mismatched) expectations are a fundamental cause of problems in the author-agent relationship. Authors can  often avoid many problems—before and after signing with a literary agent—by establishing realistic expectations about the author-agent relationship. Step 1: Know What Agents Do … and Do Not Do.  A literary agent can wear many different “hats” […]

@OrlyKonigLopez “Strong writing, great story, but I just didn’t love it.” Any writer who’s had a manuscript on submission with an agent and received a similar reply, knows that banging-head-on-table feeling. And haven’t we all whined back at the computer at some point, “But you liked it. Come onnnnnn”? How can an agent like your […]

Shannon Donnelly I don’t actually believe in writer's block. That probably makes me sound arrogant, but what I’ve found is that blocks are actually your writer instincts trying to get your attention—and what better way than to stop you cold? Every writer needs good instincts. You have to have that gut feeling when you’re scene […]