by Cynthia Ruchti “No more shoulds.” I could feel my eyes widen and my eyebrows creep higher at her no-nonsense statement. She meant all three words. She’d determined to eliminate the word “should” from her vocabulary. No more “I should,” “We should,” “They should,” “You should.” “I’m either going to do it or I’m not,” she vowed. “I either will …
Overcoming Writing Fears
By Loretta Eidson Pressing the send button for that first submission can be the most nerve-racking, push-of-the-button feat ever tackled. Why? Writing thrusts the writer’s reputation into the world. It shouts from the inner corridors of the heart, “I have something to write about, but will the editor think it is worthwhile?” It unveils a hidden desire to communicate with …
A Sense of Style
by Michelle Arch Anyone who has been engaged in the craft of writing for any length of time has developed a uniquely personal style. During the last several years in Chapman University’s dual Master of Arts in English and MFA in Creative Writing program, my own narrative manner has been described in workshops as meticulous, high, ornamental, tedious, lovely, distracting, …
In God’s Waiting Room
by Sarah Sundin “Wait.” We don’t like that word, do we? But a writer’s life is filled with waiting. Most famously, we wait for that first book contract. But the waiting doesn’t end. We wait for our editor’s approval. We wait for reviews. We wait for readers’ reactions. We wait for sales figures. And many published authors go through another …
Bugged by the Ladies
by Dana Mentink Consider the humble ladybug, fellow readers and writers. She’s less than a quarter of an inch long, silent and stoic and more than likely unnoticed in your yard. Truth be told, she’s a powerhouse, a dynamic dame that can teach us a lot about the wild and wacky world of writing. Let’s take a moment to look …
Subtle Set-ups and Powerful Pay-offs
by Christine Sunderland Life is a journey from choice to choice, an exercise of free will. When we choose, a genetic component changes, and we become slightly different people. We have chosen a direction that informs our genes and colors our future choices. As readers we follow this journey in stories. We wonder where the choices will take us. But …
Letting Your Protagonist Be Super and Human
by Rachel Hauck Did you see the movie, “The Avengers”? Did you like it? I did last year and wow! Another blow-’em-up New York City movie. I think Hollywood needs to get more creative, but hey, that’s me. Poor NYC if anything ever happens to them as depicted in movies! Back to “The Avengers”. Besides Ironman, Thor, Hulk and Captain …
Writing and Time Management
by Jennie Atkins So you want to write, but you have to hold down your dreaded day job, be super mom, or just get through your never-ending to-do list. There are days you finally drag yourself to your computer and barely squeak out a paragraph or two at best. Or you get sidetracked with e-mails, phone calls, or a hundred …
A Dash of Steampunk
by Kathleen Y’Barbo When I mention that my historical romantic suspense series, THE SECRET LIVES OF WILL TUCKER, includes a dash of steampunk, I usually get one of two responses: a wide grin or a confused expression. For those of you who best identify with the confused expression crowd, let’s talk about what steampunk is. Wikipedia calls steampunk “…a subgenre …
Writing Preparation
by Carolyne Aarsen My husband had to replace a window in my office awhile back. He drove to his brother’s place, a twenty minute drive one way, borrowed a set of scaffolds, came back and set them up to install the window. Then he got his tools and brought them to the scaffold. All tallied, this took him all morning. …