Aimie K. Runyan Three years ago when I sat down to begin plotting my novel, Promised to the Crown, I knew I had a huge task in front of me. I was dealing with an era most readers would only have a cursory knowledge of, and a series of events they would probably not be […]

Have you ever started a project that other people thought was impossible? That you thought was impossible? How about something that wasn’t impossible, but would take a long time to finish, like going to college? As an adult, I understand that my life is the sum of every decision I’ve made, even the small ones. […]

Sonja Yoerg The act of writing is an exercise in managing symbols. Every word, after all, is attached to a universe of meaning; the bit we formally agree upon is the definition. Everything else a word signifies exists in a web of personal memory, experience and emotion. If I write “moon,” your brain lights up […]

Sierra Godfrey Flashbacks can explain a lot about your character. Adding them into your story often gives the reader a glimpse of the texture that explains why your character does what she does—and goodness knows, we spend a lot of time thinking about how our characters got to where they are when we start telling […]

Kate Moretti Congratulations, you did it! You typed “The End”. Finite. Have a glass of wine, heck have a bottle. Now, polish it up, send it out to agents, maybe editors. Maybe you get a few rejections, no problem. Maybe a few more. Maybe they sort of hinge around one thing: It didn’t grab me […]