What’s Your Story?
© 2010 Marylane Wade Koch In the midst of change and uncertainty in our culture, some ideas remain timeless and sure. For example, people still love a good story. No,…
The Book Bomb on Amazon: Does It Work?
© 2009 Julie Ferwerda Recently I had the exciting opportunity to try out the amazing publicity move, book bombing on Amazon. How it works: Pick a bomb date a couple weeks before…
Writing with Banana Peels
© 2009 James Watkins The secret to writing humor is to look at life from a perspective of about 17 degrees off center. So, I find myself asking “what if”…
Wringing the Most from an Interview
© 2009 Tracy Crump Three years ago, I wrote regularly for a newspaper and conducted a number of interviews. Some went well; some did not. But I enjoyed getting to…
The Wait
© 2009 Marylane Wade Koch You’ve finished your story, polished to perfection, and submitted it to the publisher. Maybe you met an assignment or contest deadline. Perhaps you sent a…
I’m Not Making This Up
© 2009 Tracy Crump I don’t remember learning about dangling participles in school. In fact, I thought dangling participles were like floppy disks (stay with me here). The first time…
And the winner is . . .
© 2009 Marylane Wade Koch In my twenties, I dreamed of winning the Publishers Clearinghouse Sweepstakes. Now each year I virtual-tour the HGTV dream house online, submit my entry, and envision…
How True Is True?
© 2009 Tracy Crump “So it’s ok to lie, huh?” My son shot me an impish grin. I had just explained that I was adding dialogue and other details to…
Dreaded Deadlines
© 2009 Bill Wetterman As a career businessman, I've had to meet deadlines and instruct others on how to meet deadlines. There are three huge stumbling blocks. They will differ…
Take Time to Sharpen Your Saw
© 2009 Marylane Wade Koch Years ago I received some advice that proved invaluable but challenging. I tend to be the always-busy-with-something type. When a friend asked me to attend…