by Shannon Donnelly Emotion. It’s what we read for in fiction. We want the thrill, the sorrow, the laughter, and the tears. Unfortunately, words are abstracts. Emotions are visceral—they’re in our bodies. That means the illusion to bring about emotion has to be studied and learned. And it’s the same challenge with every book—how to […]

by Pamela Morsi As a writer without a plan, I don’t get invited to comment often on my writing process. Telling people, “oh, I just make it up as I go along” tends to annoy my colleagues and confuse newcomers. I’m an organic writer. Or at least that what Donald Maass calls it. Pardon the […]

Today Fae Rowen wraps up her series on attachment models and the science of falling in love. If you missed Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, or Part 4 where she describes the early childhood adaptations and the "repairs" for each of the four attachments styles, you can link to any one by clicking on […]

NOTE: Our very own Laura Drake is teaching an online course on "Fearless Pitching," June 10-July 7. Click here for more information. Now, Let's welcome back Shannon Donnelly! First lines fall into three categories—hooks, lines, and sinkers. The sinkers are pretty obvious—they’re the dud lines, the lines that don’t help a reader into the story. […]

First a quick congratulations to the winners of the two most recent giveaways: Deb Kastner and cwolffe both won a copy of Laura Drake's debut release;  Karen Duvall will be taking a Margie Lawson class! Now, please give a warm WITS welcome to Melissa Cutler (take note folks, she's doing a giveaway). I'm excited to […]