By Emily Conrad When responses to my debut novel started to come in from my launch team, a friend asked if the positive feedback encouraged me. Though, yes, the praise was a momentary boost, and no, I don’t want to consider what might’ve happened in my heart if the initial response had been the opposite, I had to confess that …
Perfectionism: How Can Something So “Perfect” Be So Wrong?
by Kathy Harris I’m a perfectionist. And that’s not a good thing. Taken to the extreme, perfectionism can lead to serious psychological issues and is, in fact, on the rise, especially among young people. (See, Harvard Business Review, January 26, 2018.) But, even those of us who have a casual acquaintance with perfectionism will find that our work can suffer …
Ten Wrongs Don’t Make a Writer
How to Avoid the Top Ten Fatal Flaws in Fiction By Kathleen Y’Barbo It is not yet 2019, but it won’t be long until we’re several weeks—or months into the new year, the time when New Year’s resolutions begin to lose their shine and some of us begin to wonder if we should have resolved NOT to make any …
Christmases that Rock Your Characters’ World
By Susan A.J. Lyttek When I signed up to write this Christmas blog post, I had dozens of ideas on what I would write about. I knew, somehow, the star of my post would be my seasonal mystery Plundered Christmas. It still will be, just not in any of the directions I had originally considered. For instance, I had notes …
Character Description: Two Challenges
By Jean Kavich Bloom As a fiction editor, I find novelists can encounter a couple of challenges when it comes to character descriptions: (1) keeping track of them so they don’t accidently give their heroine, for instance, blue eyes in chapter 1 and brown eyes in chapter 12, and (2) conveying them to readers more creatively than what can seem …
How to End 2018 with Success
By Beth K. Vogt “I never dreamed about success, I worked for it.” — Estee Lauder (1908-2004), American businesswoman I came across the quote by businesswoman Estee Lauder while working on several different blog posts. Her words encompasses a truth I believe: Living the dream – any dream – means doing the work. If you’re reading this blog post, odds …
Getting Naked on the Page
By Lenora Livingston In my lifetime, I have spent a lot of time, money, and effort trying to improve my writing skills. I have taken long courses, short courses, attended writing seminars, and joined writing groups. But the best advice ever given to me came absolutely free from Mark Weston. Who is Mark Weston? The younger generations probably wouldn’t have …
Dialog, The Fuel Of Your Story
by Rachel Hauck I’ve written a lot about dialog over the years but it’s a topic worth repeating. Dialog. Is. Key. Talking is how we learn about people. The words they use, the tone of his or her voice, as well as interpreting someone’s body language, is how we form our opinion of people. As authors, we have to resist …
Handling Disappointment & Unmet Expectations
By Donna L.H. Smith If I had a dollar for every time I’ve been disappointed in writing or life — or had unmet expectations — I’d be a rich woman. Because disappointment is a part of life and how we handle ourselves, our feelings, our responses when life throws us a sucker punch… Let me tell you a story. Eighteen …
7 Critical Questions to Ask Your Character
By DiAnn Mills Writers are bombarded with how to prep for writing an unforgettable character. We want every story to be deeper than the previous one, and that means depth of character. Over the years of writing, I’ve gathered many valuable resources. While I use an extensive character sketch that fits my method of writing and personality, the following are …