Writer's Fun Zone by Beth Barany

1

Writing Tips

I Have Confidence In Confidence Alone – Do You? By Carol Malone

Do you remember Sister Maria from The Sound of Music? She sang a little song about having confidence before she plunged into the world of Captain Von Trapp and his seven motherless children. As she sang, she acknowledged her doubts and fears, but she didn’t chicken out or turn back.

0

Writing Tips

Enrich Your Story with Foreshadowing by Kay Keppler

The goal for every writer has to be writing a book so compelling that readers can’t put it down. Using foreshadowing can help you create that kind of suspense, because it hints at what comes later and motivates the reader to find out what that drama or secret is. Foreshadowing can also convey information that helps readers understand future events.

0

Writing Tips

Anthologies by Catharine Bramkamp

Anthologies are often the first place a brand newbie writer can get published. Which is why many colleges and writing clubs collect and print anthologies. Inclusion in an anthology increases the value of group membership and lifts all boats – or in this case, author’s street cred.

0

Writing Tips

The Q&A by Nevada McPherson

In my last post I talked about how you should take every opportunity to talk about your work when you get the chance, to see what others have to say and to learn from the questions people ask. Sometimes they catch you off-guard in a way that makes you have to say something from the gut, and it forces a writer to be in the moment, and to be authentic.

0

Writing Tips

Playing Games With Your Characters’ Emotional Spaces by Wyatt Bessing

There are multiple kinds of truth, in fiction as in life. As fiction writers, we move as close to the truth as possible without ever quite veering into truth entirely (otherwise we’d be writing nonfiction). One kind of truth emanates from a realism of scene and detail. By identifying with familiar settings and character traits, readers are pulled into a story and become personally attached to it.

0

Writing Tips

Take a Risk: Build Your Presence as a Writer by Deanna Jackson

Before my novella was changed into a novel, I begun to think about querying agents. I researched everything I could about how to write query letters and studied samples from published authors. Most of the samples suggested adding a paragraph at the end of your letter to tell a little about yourself and your writing experience.

0

Writing Tips

Writer’s Brain – Whose Brain Is It? by Raina Schell

Sometimes writing is like being in a trance. How else can it be explained? When people have experiences, like taking the kids to the zoo for the first time or falling in love; we remember them. We may even remember what our lover was wearing the first time we laid eyes on him or her.

3

Writing Tips

Making The Hard Cuts by Jami Gray

With the upcoming conference and contest session upon us, writers may be scrambling to craft that perfect one-liner that captures the 300 plus pages of perfection to lob to an editor or agent. There may be some who are quietly being fitted for white jackets with buckles as they pare down their beautiful creature into 1 to 5 page synopsis to accompany that one-line pitch. If you’re hoping for words of wisdom on these two items, sorry, I’ll leave that to someone else better suited and not currently tearing their hair out trying to accomplish the same thing.

0

Writing Tips

How Do You Feel? by Kay Keppler

Many writers, when they sit down to work, look with anxiety or stress at that blank page. Or they’re afraid to send their work out—to editors or publishers—or even for critique. Others are afraid they won’t sell. Or if they have sold, that they won’t sell again.

1

Writing Tips

A Place to Write by Annmarie Miles

I’ve never had a special place to write. I’ve often envied other writers who post pictures of their little corner, with a chair and desk, notebooks and pens at the ready; often an inspiring view nearby. Sadly, I’ve never lived in a house that had space for a space.

>