by Traci Tyne Hilton When I have a hard time getting words on the page, I don’t make the wisest decisions. That said, I’ve watched a lot of the Real Housewives of Everywhere this summer. And you know what? I’ve learned an awful lot about how to succeed in business! 10. Don’t be afraid to look foolish. The Real Housewives …
Trusting Your Gut
by Suzanne Woods Fisher A few years ago, I was staying in a nice hotel-very safe, oriented to business clientele. As I went into an elevator, a hotel employee came in behind me. He waited until I pressed a button for my floor, then he smiled, as if that was just the floor he needed. Something just didn’t seem right. …
Story Chasers: A Twelve-Step Program for Not Becoming a Successful Writer
by DiAnn Mills We fiction writers chase our stories like toddlers on a sugar-high. I’m one of them. I can dream and plan and plot all day long. Yet sometimes I get sidetracked. For writers who live and breathe their addiction but have a problem staying on task, I’m offering a twelve-step program call Story Chasers (SC). These are writers …
Stick with the Story
by Jill Elizabeth Nelson Any novelist who has spent much time in the fiction-writing world has probably heard the term “sagging middle.” Sags develop when a story loses momentum and begins to meander or bog down. I’m of the opinion that the issue usually isn’t so much a single sag as a number of sags, clustered or scattered throughout. Envision …
The Wait
by Ian Acheson We writers wait a lot. I expect for most of us the production process of drafting a manuscript is an active one, however, there will be times we will be waiting for feedback from others before we proceed to the next stage. When we’ve completed the manuscript we can expect to wait a lot. Critique groups, editors, …
Who Knows What When
by Cathy Gohlke Access to information affects the motivations, actions, and consequences borne by every character we create. This truth came boldly home to me while writing Saving Amelie, a story set in Nazi Germany during 1939 and 1940. In writing about a society controlled and censored by a dictatorship and rife with propaganda, it was difficult-sometimes overwhelming-to determine who …
Color Me Purple: Help Others Take an Interest in Your Work
by Debra Koontz Roberson Remember this children’s nursery rhyme? I never saw a purple cow I never hope to see one But I can tell you this right now I’d rather see than be one. Being different may be a horrible thought when you are a child or teenager, but it’s essential when you’re a grownup marketing yourself and your …
Houston-The Most Diverse City in the US
by DiAnn Mills I love Houston. It’s home, and that makes it the most special place on the planet. Oh, I know you’re thinking of cowboys and oil wells, Texans and Astros. And those things are true. But Houston appeals to many people groups. According to the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University, Houston ranks as the most …
Dissecting The Old To Make It New
by Gail Gaymer Martin By the time novelists sell to a traditional publisher, they’ve donated a large amount of time honing their craft. Rejection points out a weak writing technique: pacing, dialogue, point of view or other flaws. Learning to write a good book is a craft. Many people say someday they’re going to write a book. They sit down, …
Writing Connected Stories
by Winnie Griggs As a reader I’ve always loved connected stories. I mean, what can be better than knowing that the characters and storyworld that you’ve just invested so much time and emotion into are going to reappear in more books to come. As an author, however, it never occurred to me to try to pen connected stories myself, until …