By Bruce Hennigan I am finishing up the final galley proof corrections for my upcoming book, “The 11th Demon: The Ark of Chaos” and I am anxious to make sure I haven’t used “deus ex machina” to save the day. While watching reruns of the newer versions of Doctor Who in preparation for the upcoming 50th anniversary broadcast of “The …
Making Memories
by Dani Pettrey My daughter got married last weekend. It’s hard to believe my baby girl is all grown up and now a wife of her own. My husband is a wedding photographer and was able to capture this gorgeous moment. It was a day of enjoying, making and capturing memories. And, it got me thinking. Isn’t that what we …
Be a Superhero: Write a Novel in a Month
by Susan May Warren “NaNoWriMo? National Novel Writing Month? Oh please, don’t ask me to write a novel in a month. I’m sorry, it’s just too overwhelming.” My friend and aspiring writer mentee, Sally, took a sip of her mint dark chocolate cocoa, looking at me as if I’d asked her to run a marathon. Tomorrow. “No. Forget it. You’d …
Writing A Novel Series
by Gail Gaymer Martin I’ve enjoyed writing novels in a series, because the advantage is: 1) each story creates fodder to build the next novel and 2) editors like to contract a series because they interest readers. A series demands an author to keep good records of details woven through the novels, especially with a large cast of characters. I …
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 …
Writing Historical Novels, Part 2
By Carrie Turansky On Sept. 5th I shared several tips on research for historical authors. Today I’d like to continue with that topic and give you a few more ideas. All of these have been very helpful to me as I have been writing The Edwardian Brides Series, and today I am celebrating the release of Book One, The Governess …
Say Goodbye to Frenzy in Your Writing Life
by Judy Christie When I turned fifty, I gave myself a book for my birthday: I committed to write my first novel. I’m astonished that In the past six years, I’ve had seven novels published, with number eight set to release next fall. In addition, I work a “day job” as a consultant. I am so thankful–and pooped. Like many …
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 …
Doing Time
by Deborah Raney Every year I anticipate this season when the brand new calendars go on sale! I always have such fun choosing the calendar that will hang on our fridge keeping track of all the important events of our lives. I get great pleasure from turning to a new page at the beginning of each month-a fresh start, a …
Taking the P (plot) out of Suspense
by DiAnn Mills Recently I read a suspense novel that left me wondering what the story was all about. I couldn’t follow the storyline or figure out character motivation. Although many aspects of the novel were outstanding, I couldn’t find the plot (storyline) and that meant I had no stake in the protagonist’s life. In short, I lost interest. After …