by Dina Sleiman The new hot thing this year seems to be coming up with one word to encapsulate your goals. Even before I noticed this trend, I had spotted my word in a quote from Mary DeMuth on Author Media. Are you ready for it…Entre-author. A friend asked if this had something to do with an author entering, like …
Getting Published
By Terry Burns Hartline Literary There’s a concept we need to get a handle on, “Publishing isn’t a selection process . . . it is a survival process.” Really?- Yes, I believe the biggest secret to publishing is the ability to get the RIGHT PRODUCT to the RIGHT PERSON at the RIGHT PLACE at exactly the RIGHT TIME. There are …
GUM In Our Writing
by Martha Rogers As a former English instructor at both the high school and college levels, I am much more aware of the GUM of writing. That’s Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics for those who may not know. Grammar rules do change and the Chicago Manual of Style is what we all go by for our writing. However, some things still …
Using GMC To Meet Your New Year Resolutions
by Tina Radcliffe Resolution: the act of resolving or determining upon an action or course of action, method, procedure, etc. (Dictionary.com) This is the time of year for all those writerly resolutions we add to our brand new, crisp moleskine notebooks. Our resolutions should be easy to create, after all, we are the masters of GMC. Goal, Motivation and Conflict. …
The Scoop on Research
by DiAnn Mills Writing romantic suspense is my passion. I stay awake at night planning a story in which a strong and vibrant heroine attempts the impossible, the forbidden, or the dangerous for the good of others. She meets a hero who compliments her strengths and challenges her weaknesses. Together they take the writer and the reader on an adventure. …
WIP or RIP?
by Donna L. Rich When people ask me what I’m working on right now, sometimes, I have to stop and think (and count). I wonder if I have too many ideas or too many WIP’s going on at once. The problem is if I don’t get them down on paper (or flash drive), they prod and dig and pound inside …
Five Tips for Plotting a Romantic Suspense Novel
by Susan Sleeman In my December 8th post where I defined romantic suspense, I promised to share my top tips on how to plan a romantic suspense novel. But first, a quick recap on what makes a novel and romantic suspense novel. Romantic suspense is just what the title says. Romance and suspense in one novel. • BOTH storylines have …
Finding Story
by Eva Marie Everson Have you ever read a book or watched a movie and wondered where the writer came up with such a story? I do. The more complex the story, the more I marvel. Or, the more historically accurate, the more I’m fascinated. I’m not a master storyteller, but throughout my life, stories run in and out of …
Create a Unique Take to Present a Villain
by B.J. Robinson Want a memorable villain? When I wrote Last Resort I created one Amazon reviewers left comments about. Author Nike Chillemi said, “This is a novel where the reader can not only connect with the heroine and hero, as would be expected, but there’s also connection with the villain. This is a unique take on how to present …
Building Hooks in Your Story
By Jennifer Hudson Taylor In fiction, a hook is an opening line or paragraph to a story that grips a reader’s interest and lures them into turning the pages to keep reading. Most authors think of a hook as the beginning of a story, but there are several other places to use a hook besides the beginning. I call this …