Jamie Raintree I started writing my first novel 8 years ago, almost to the day. (I don't know why I'll always remember it was July 12th that I wrote those first fateful words.) I had already been writing for years, mostly short stories and some failed attempts at novels, but there was something about this […]

Dr. Ann Garvin “How did you get a book published?” I get this question from the check-out lady at the Pick ‘N Save’ to the mechanic who is fixing the air conditioning in my car to my dentist (but he always waits until I can’t speak so he can tell me about his book). The […]

Angela Ackerman Ah, backstory. According to many, this is the BIG BAD WORD in fiction. How many times have you heard someone say, “Backstory is bad, strip it from the scene!” or, “Backstory slows the pace, bogs down the action, and will only bore the reader.” Well, if you hang out at the same online […]

Katie Rose Guest Pryal One of the most beloved chestnuts of writing instruction is that you should write every day. There are many reasons that writing advice-givers (of which I am one, obviously) give for this advice. But recently, some friends of mine, writer and novelist Esme Weijun Wang and writer Jacqui Shine conversed about […]

by Piper Bayard Sshh! I have a secret. I’ve never said it out loud, but I’m going to share it with you – because you need to know. I’m an author with two books out. Both books made the top ten of one bestseller list or another. I also post at over 60 websites nationwide […]