One of the best ways to keep your readers turning pages—in the horror, suspense, mystery, and thriller genres—is to infuse your fiction with a healthy dose of dread. But what is dread exactly? And how do you make sure that you’ve got it in spades? In simplest terms, dread is a constant, certain feeling that… Read more »
In the Summer of 2022, after working in Communications & PR for 22 years, I left my writing job to become a writer. My Comms work was all in technology, 16 years of which I worked at Microsoft in a wide range of roles spanning corporate, product, issues, and executive communications. Over those years, I… Read more »
Anxiety. I might be kneeling over a chopping block with this, but I know I’m not the only writer who has prepared that perfect email — author bio, fully researched the agent/publisher/editor so you know exactly the time they leave their house for work, attached your fully blossomed baby, and re-read the correspondence another three… Read more »
Young adult fiction is becoming a more popular category than ever—stemming back to the 1960s with the publication of S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders, marketed specifically for young adults. In more recent years, the genre has blossomed with bestselling books like Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and Twilight by Stephenie… Read more »
While my new column is about short fiction; short stories, novellas, novelettes, and flash, I want to start with some thoughts designed to help focus on writing, no matter what form it takes. Setting up time to write can be more challenging than choosing what form to write in, so I designed a DIY writing… Read more »
Content warning: This article mentions and discusses offensive words related to people with disabilities, while offering alternatives to prevent using ableist language in the future in your writing. Wow! That’s “crazy,” I can’t believe that happened. This event was so “lame.” She was “blind” to his ways, and he ended up taking advantage of her…. Read more »
Writing a draft isn’t easy, but it is easily measurable. Every day, your word count increases. You probably know how many total words your manuscript needs to have in order to meet your genre conventions. By analyzing your typical daily pace, you can even plan how much time you need to get to the finish… Read more »
You’ve just finished writing your first draft! Woo-hoo! Now it’s time to jump in to the revision phase, polish, and make the story shine. NO! Full-stop writer. Cool those jets. Revision is not simply about making sentences tighter or words prettier. That is part of it, but it’s a tiny slice of the whole. So… Read more »
What are Villains in Literature? A villain is, by definition, an evil or immoral character intent on harming others. In literature, these characters portray evil and immoral behavior while also providing readers with an antagonistic force or bad guy – a figure against whom to root. They are often presented as self-serving or selfish, especially… Read more »
During my final year at Pomona College, whenever I had a serious deadline, I would put on my glasses and head to the philosophy library. My glasses were tortoise shell with round lenses and did nothing to help my vision. Seriously, they were filled with fake glass. And the philosophy library might as well have… Read more »
