By Deb Haggerty, @DebHaggerty   As an editor, I read—a lot! And I find I get impatient with certain contrivances authors tend to overdo. I realize part of what we do as writers is our voice, but I also realize part is trying to impress or to ensure our readers get…

By D.L. Koontz, @DLKoontz   Description involves the creation of mental images that allow readers to fully experience our stories. Appropriate description sets the tone, enabling the fullest reader impact. Critical Point: Appropriate description does that. Inappropriate description, however, does something completely different. Appropriate description is as important to books, as…

By Aaron Gansky, @adgansky Sometime after Flannery O’Connor’s death, her friends, Sally and Robert Fitzgerald, compiled several of her essays and speeches on writing in a book called Mystery and Manners. If you’re serious about the art of fiction, this is a book you’ll want to read and keep handy…

by Katy Kauffman, @KatyKauffman28   How do you know when you’ve written enough in your book or chapter, and it’s time to stop? Some may say … When the deadline comes. When it’s 1 am and you’re going cross-eyed. When you can’t think of anything else to say. When the…

By Todd Allen, @ToddAllenAuthor One unfair stereotype which plagues writers is how we hear voices in our heads (like there’s something wrong with that?). What most non-writers fail to understand is when writers focus on their characters’ thoughts, actions, and feelings inspiration sometimes manifests as words and phrases in our minds.…

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills While contemplating my next writing project, I took a critical look at myself, and I didn’t like what the mirror revealed. I had flabby arms. Some of you call these bat wings or fly-zones. I refer to them as dangling participles, nothing I want on me…