By Sharla Rae, @SharlaWrites If poets are to be believed, eyes are the windows to the soul. Rather than using clichéd or common descriptions, why not use "explicit" eye descriptions to give your reader a real peek into a character’s psyche? I’ll touch on eye color, movement, and appearance and, of course, I have some helpful lists […]

by Laura Drake @PBRWriter I love loglines. There’s no better feeling than pulling together words that capture the spirit of your book in a perfect, compelling way. I teach a submissions class for the Lawson Writer's Academy and find that loglines are a major source of stress for my students. Have you ever noticed that loglines […]

by Orly Konig-Lopez, @OrlyKonigLopez The other day I finished a book and when my husband asked if it was good, my answer was a rather drawn out, “Yeeaaahhhh.” The story was interesting and the author had a pleasant, easy style. She’d done a nice job of showing me what the rooms looked like, what the […]

by Lynda Bouchard

What can an author learn from a pair of Spanx? A lot.

I was in a mall last week with my aunt and, as we walked through the pantyhose department, I noticed that one brand stood out. Spanx.

How Spanx got noticed and the unique marketing of this product is a brilliant lesson for all authors. Small is the new big.

by Susan Spann, @SusanSpann Whether you write detective fiction, romance, historical novels or fantasy epics, a lone protagonist never receives as great a reaction as one with a well-developed supporting cast. Foils serve to reinforce and highlight the hero’s good (and bad) characteristics, and also give the protagonist a chance to shine outside the primary narrative. […]