No one can argue the importance of family. Whether loving or trying, our relationships with parents, children, and siblings – or the lack of such relationships – can have a huge impact on our lives. The same goes for literary characters. Their beliefs about family can be challenged, reshaped, or reaffirmed as a result of… Read more »
As we have explored this year, flash fiction is more than a very short story. It is an excellent, skill-building practice. It can be used for various projects and applied to limitless assignments. One of the things everyone needs, especially writers, is an bio. When we submit work to magazines, enter contests, speak at events,… Read more »
As a first-time attendee of Writer’s Digest Conference, I was thrilled to spend three days learning about the craft and business of writing. And with presentations offered on a wide range of topics including genre studies, writing techniques, and marketing strategies, I made sure to dabble in each. What I didn’t expect was that even… Read more »
Hello Word Nerds! Thanks for joining me today. Man, it’s been a while since I’ve done a solo show. It feels like it’s been forever since I’ve had a chance to chat with you. We’ve been doing so many awesome interviews, and we have a bunch more coming up, but today I felt like it was time… Read more »
Some people imagine writing for kids and immediately picture Dr. Suess or baby board books. But the good news is you don’t have to use simple words to write for elementary kids if that’s not your style. Go ahead and use rich, succulent vocabulary and varied sentence structure—please! There are plenty of kids who are… Read more »
Character development was widely (if unsurprisingly) regarded as one of the foundational pillars of writing a good story among the many top-selling authors present at this year’s ThrillerFest. In fact, “character” was the first of Steve Berry’s “6 C’s of Story Structure.” As Dale Brown said, “What is character? The motivations that drive the story …… Read more »
So far in Developing Themes In Your Stories, we’ve covered character arcs, the story premise, and external conflict, which are all important building blocks for stories. Dialogue, however, is more of an interior design element. It adds color and life to a story and aids in the overall delivery. It’s also an excellent method for… Read more »
The blogosphere is full of advice for writers about self-promotion, building online relationships, self-branding, creating a platform, and more. But the truth is, if you ask most agents and editors what they’d most like to see from a new writer, the answer is almost always, “Great writing.” With that in mind, here are five ways to pursue excellence. 1…. Read more »
Over the course of this year’s ThrillerFest, the highs and lows of the writer’s life—both as a craft and as a business—were discussed at length. In one-on-one interviews with genre titans Mark Billingham, Charlaine Harris, and Thrillermaster Nelson DeMille, as well as in a number of breakout panels, many of the participating authors shared about… Read more »
Hi there Word Nerds! Thanks for joining me today. In this episode, I’m thrilled to interview debut author Susannah Marren. She and I talk about her process for writing her debut novel, her inspiration and the different thematic elements in her writing Get ready to be inspired by this lovely interview. Susannah is originally from Long… Read more »
