by Rebecca DeMarino A challenge to writing fiction based on the lives of real people and events can be daunting, but not impossible. When it is set in a historical time period, sorting out the facts from lore, stereotypes and misconceptions can make it tricky (or sticky) however. I had concerns about writing a novel based on the real lives …
Boost Your Productivity with Four Top Tech Tools
by Laura McClellan As a not-yet-published newbie novelist, I don’t feel qualified to advise on writing techniques. But I am a diehard tech geek, always looking for tools that will help me be more productive. I thought I’d share four digital tools that have been indispensable to me as a writer. In no particular order, here are my current top …
Let’s Give Them Something to Talk About
by Cynthia Ruchti Like many authors, I wrote several novels before writing the first one that would be picked up by a publishing house. When working on what would become my debut novel, I didn’t-couldn’t-envision the path ahead. Celebrating this month’s release of my third full-length novel, fifth fiction work, eighth book in the past four years, I think back …
Social Engagements
By: Suzanne Kuhn, SuzyQ I often receive feedback from friends — those I know me both in real life and only through social media — about how much they have enjoyed getting to know me through my social media. I recently asked this question on my personal Facebook page: “Name one thing that you know about me solely because of …
7 Tips to Get More Comments on Your Blog
by Edie Melson Even today-with as many blogs on the Internet as there are-blogging is still a valuable part of building and maintaining an online community. But it’s rare for a blog to take hold and grow, if it’s not a place where comments proliferate. Almost no one likes to be lectured, and that’s what a blog can feel with …
The Upside of Rejection
By Brenda Anderson Rejection. A word most writers are intimately familiar with, a word filled with negative connotations. Merriam-Webster defines rejection as “the action of rejecting: the state of being rejected.” Sounds depressing, doesn’t it? In the midst of rejection, it’s difficult to find something positive, but I assure you, there is an upside. We learn from rejection: You’ve just …
Resurrecting Beauty
by Christine Sunderland I have long been fascinated with the relationship between beauty, truth, and goodness. One of the joys of being a novelist is that I can create characters who share my fascinations. So in my recently published novel, The Magdalene Mystery, a protagonist is devoted to truth in the media and correcting Internet lies. He is also fascinated …
Don’t Leave the Last 10% Unsaid
by Melissa Tagg There’s not a whole lot I can brag about when it comes to all things domestic diva-related. It’s not that I can’t do things like clean and cook-I just don’t generally have time to keep up in a way that wouldn’t horrify Martha Stewart. But one thing I can be at least a little proud of: I’m …
Details, Details
by Harry Kraus Let’s talk about the “fictional dream.” What makes people willing to suspend belief and enter into a make-believe world? How is this done successfully? I’ve been contemplating this recently as I’ve been reading the young adult novels beginning with Divergent. Veronica Roth creates a world very different from our own, one which requires the reader to accept …
Reflections of Tone
by Jennifer Sienes I’ve written enough now to realize that there’s been a pattern in not only what I write, but in how I write – no, I didn’t get the Tread Desk I’ve had my eye on for some time-I’m referring to that somewhat elusive tone. At the end of my first year as a middle school teacher, I …