by Suzanne Kuhn Do you feel as if you are a public figure? Some are nodding “yes”, while others are shaking their heads adamantly “no”. Regardless of how you responded, reality is that when you answered the call and made the commitment to pursue writing, you became a public figure. In doing so you took on the mantle of writer …
My Personal Self-Help Guide for Focusing on Writing
by Maggie Brendan With the current release of my sixth book, Perfectly Matched, last week, I was at the Georgia Romance Writers Conference, when another writer asked me if I had a guide to staying focused to write each book, handle marketing, and still maintain a separate life apart from my work. It was a thought provoking question which made …
Mentoring: Pay It Forward
By Margaret Daley Years ago when I started writing, the Internet didn’t exist, nor did the current plethora of how-to-books on romance writing. The writing groups so many of us now take for granted in helping beginners learn the craft of telling a good story weren’t exactly on every street corner either! In the city where I live, I was …
Little Things Mean A Lot
by Dr. Richard Mabry As writers of fiction, we obsess over the big things: characters and plot. We work to make certain that readers invest themselves in the people who populate our stories and that every page provides an impetus to turn to the next one. We worry about the big things, and that’s as it should be, but how …
Three Steps to Prevent Over Firing
by Davalynn Spencer We just moved into a new-to-us home and are acquainting ourselves with the light-switch locations, key-to-lock equations, and appliance operations-which, in my book, includes the wood stove. Though the stove is not technically an appliance, I want to be ready for action come the first snow of the season. A cozy fire on a cold Colorado night …
Unexpected Grace
by Jennifer Sienes Praying for inspiration for a new novel is on par with praying for a personal disaster. Because, that’s where I received the inspiration for my first two books – my brother’s suicide and my daughter’s near – fatal car accident. So, I was sure to be clear with God that I really wanted to write about someone …
Things I Wish I’d Known Sooner
by Cynthia Herron Twenty years ago, the world of writing was a much different scenario. Writers had fewer irons in the fire and more time to create. The internet was still new, a “social media presence” unheard of, and snail mail the order of the day. Today, we have the ability to research from anywhere at the touch of a …
Distractions
by Carolyne Aarsen We all have them and we all give in to them. As a writer, working from home, with a refrigerator only a procrastination away, distractions are my nemesis. The biggest ones? The Internet and e-mail. No contest. I will be working away and hit a snag. Doesn’t even need to be a big one. Can be something …
Opening Night Jitters
by Dr. Richard Mabry I remember it well. It was the opening (and closing) night for the fifth grade’s performance of the musical, The Gypsy King. I played the male lead, Kom, opposite the attractive blonde classmate on whom I’d had a crush for a year. (Never mind why Yola, the Gypsy Queen, was a blonde. Ever hear of “suspension …
Building Your Writing Career While Working Full Time
by Lisa Jordan For the past 15 years, I’ve owned and operated my own state-registered in-home childcare program. My days are very busy and extremely noisy, but I reap many incredible blessings. In 2011 I received my first publishing contract, so for the past two years, I’ve been juggling my day job with my night job. After dinner ends, I …