The Value of Foreshadow
© 2014 Gary Fearon The action-packed opening sequence of Raiders of the Lost Ark shows Indiana Jones performing a number of death-defying feats while he acquires a historic artifact. Circumventing…
Writing on Sensitive Issues
© 2014 Susan Titus Osborn There are many hurting people who need encouragement and empathy. We can help them by revealing our shortcomings, our mistakes, and our failures. Sometimes it…
Writing to Raise Awareness: Is the Pen Really Mightier than the Sword?
© 2014 Kimberly Rae “Your book changed my life.” Have you ever been able to say that about a book? I remember years ago, when I lived in Bangladesh, a…
Historical Fiction: A Leap of Faith, A Ton of Research
© 2014 Liz Curtis Higgs When my first historical novel, Thorn in My Heart, was released in 2003, I was known for children’s books (1997: The Pine Tree Parable), funny books (1998:Help!…
I’m Published…Now What?
© 2014 Andrea Merrell Marketing … promotion … social media—what’s a writer to do? When I first started writing, I didn’t consider the complexities of getting published or establishing a…
How Well Do You Know Your Characters?
© 2014 Patricia Bradley In six short months, the third book in my Logan Point Series is due. I’m starting to sweat bullets here. I’ve set a deadline to begin…
Be a Professional Writer—All Year Long
© 2014 Gary Hensley Whether a new or veteran writer, you are in the business of writing if your intent is to write long-term and make a living—or at least…
Is Indie for You? Why an Independent Book Publisher Might Be Your Best Route to Publishing Success
© 2013 Eddie Jones For most authors, the route to publishing success begins with a pitch to a large publishing house where most book proposals die in the slush pile.…
9 Tips to Writing for a Woman’s Heart
© 2013 Janet Chester Bly Creative writing begins with an idea. What follows determines the result. The motivation. Perseverance. Research. Drafts and rewrites. The sweat to make it happen. But…
Five Ways NOT to Attract an Editor’s Attention
© 2013 W. Terry Whalin Will Rogers is credited with saying, “You never get a second chance to make a good first impression.” As an acquisitions editor, I read book…