You’ve done it. Developed a writing voice distinctly your own. Readers can clearly hear YOU in your articles, essays, and poems. Congrats! But what about your fiction? If you’re like me, the trick of bringing that voice to fiction, and writing believable characters—with their own voices—is not so clear. In my first article on voice,… Read more »
Here we go again! Week #5 of James Scott Bell’s 14 signpost scenes, and I promise that you’re in for a big one. Why? Because signpost #5, otherwise known as The Doorway of No Return #1 (The Point of No Return, abbreviated PONR), is one of the three massive, explosive, impossible-to-write-a-story-without plot points. If you’re… Read more »
People love a good story, because telling stories is how we share our experiences with others. A well-formed story explains the complex simply so that it will stick with the reader or listener. For a creative, telling the narrative of how and why your creations come about, will not only focus yourself but also inspire… Read more »
Hey there word nerds! Today I am delighted to have Yang Huang on the show! Yang is an author and former engineer. She grew up in China’s Jiangsu province where she participated in the 1989 student uprisings, and moved to the U.S. to attend Boston College. Her debut novel, Living Treasures, won the Nautilus Book… Read more »
In the past, I’ve addressed topics like artificial intelligence and time travel as both inspiration for story and as integral parts of setting. I think the best stories can work in just about any setting, but science is at the core of the science fiction genre. This time, I’m going all in on setting. You… Read more »
In platforming conversations with authors, I often get asked: how many social media networks should I be on? The short answer is that it depends. There is no magic number. How busy are you? Is social media fun for you, or a stressful chore? How are you keeping up with what you’re already doing for… Read more »
Writing is hard. Not just in craft, but in practice. As writers, we must take great care of ourselves to produce our best work. While at first, the connection between our self-care and writing might not seem obvious, consider trying to show up to the page tired, hungry or aggravated with life. While conditions cannot… Read more »
Hey there word nerds! Today I am so excited to have Steven James on the show! Steve is the bestselling, critically acclaimed author of sixteen novels. Best known for his psychological thrillers, he has received more than a dozen honors and awards for his books, including 3 Christy Awards and being nominated as a finalist… Read more »
“Aim high” is probably advice you’ve heard before. I sure have: my elementary school’s motto was aim high, be respectful, care for others, all admirable things to do. But not everyone will tell you to do so when it comes to your writing. There are the skeptics, those writers who want you to think that… Read more »
In the last Be Well, Write Well post, I wrote about the perspective of having abundant time. Today, I’m going to show you that time is not only abundant in the macro sense, it can also feel abundant on the micro level—in the weeks, days and hours that make up the building blocks of our… Read more »
