by Susan Spann Sherlock Holmes. Jane Marple. Jack Reacher. Three famous names with something important in common … aside from the fact that each of them solves crimes in mystery or thriller novels. What is this common element? Readers love them. The key to writing successful mysteries and thrillers doesn’t lie in careful plotting, clever […]

We’re excited to announce that Writers In The Storm was named in the 15th Annual Writer's Digest "101 Top Blogs for Writers" list! And to show our thanks to our amazing guest bloggers and readers, we're throwing open the comments today for a little “Pimp and Promote.” How does this work? To quote Genie in Aladdin, "There are […]

by Shannon Donnelly Years ago I was struggling to try and figure out how to write a synopsis. It took a lot of input from other writers, and some workshops, but I finally became comfortable with syopsis writing—and now it’s one of my favorite tools. I’m now doing my “Sexy Synopsis workshop again for Outreach […]

by Jessica Topper She keeps a lock of hair in her pocket She wears a cross around her neck Yes, the hair is from a little boy And the cross is someone she has not met Not yet This verse from The Black Crowes’ “She Talks To Angels” always stops me in my tracks. Even […]

  by Fae Rowen If you missed Part One or Part Two in this series on developing a character arc through believable backstory, no problem. Click on the part you missed to get caught up. Do you have a character whose arc has flatlined? Maybe you aren't using all of your character's backstory, so instead of […]