by Edie Melson @EdieMelson  Being a writer of hope is something I’ve made a deliberate effort to become. I think it’s something we all should consider. There is so much in our world these days that can lead to hopelessness if we let it. Because our business is words, we…

by Lindsey Brackett @lindsbrac When I first started teaching at writers’ conferences, I represented Splickety Publishing Group, a company entirely devoted to the art of flash fiction. But before I began attending conferences, I didn’t even know flash fiction existed. Once I discovered it, though, working in this form of…

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson As working writers, our lives sometimes seem governed by word count. We use these numbers to set goals, define projects and sometimes even determine our victories. But it’s important to also view these numbers as a guide to show us how far we’ve come. I remember…

by DiAnn Mills @diannmills Characters, like people, need a place to escape tension, stress, and conflict when life’s challenges threaten to steal their optimism. A writer uses a character’s happy spot to add a slice of real life to a three-dimensional character. The character knows where this place is and…

by DiAnn Mills @diannmills A novel’s first page is critical to the success of a successful novel. Here, the writer must hook the reader into the story by doing the following: Establish genre Introduce a sympathetic character. Initiate a bond between the protagonist and the reader. Build a setting. Create…

by Cindy Sproles @cindydevoted “I have a memoir.” An excited conferee sat across from an acquisitions editor. An awkward silence seeped across the table. The editor tinkered with the manuscript. “We aren’t looking for memoirs.” “But your site says you publish them.” “We publish memoirs if you’re Brad Pitt, George…