by Ane Mulligan  @AneMulligan In 2007, a couple of writing buddies and I had a blog called Novel Journey. We were aspiring newbies, soaking up all we could learn to get published. I got bold and following the instructions on his website, I hand wrote a letter to Dean Koontz,…

by Ane Mulligan  @AneMulligan I've heard it said, "Psychologists are analysts; writers are psychological engineers. They use psychology to engineer story characters." Characterization is complex. Among other things, writers need to know how to engineer characters, design character arcs, weave sympathy and empathy, set up character conflict, show and reveal…

by Ane Mulligan  @AneMulligan There are words that are wonderful and words that are—well, not so wonderful. I keep telling myself that, yet I forget when I write and thus inflict a great burden upon my inner editor. Like Alice, I give myself good advice, but I seldom follow it.…

by Ane Mulligan  @AneMulligan When I was a new writer, I learned the writing “rules” and adhered to them, preached them like a religious zealot to anyone who asked. I lived and breathed RULES. Fortunately, as I grew in my craft, I learned there are times to break the rules…

by Ane Mulligan  @AneMulligan I can’t juggle. Oranges, lemons, or apples—it doesn’t matter. They all fall to the floor. I tried grapes, erroneously thinking since they are smaller, I could catch them easier. Wrong. Believe me, I’ve practiced, until the dog started chasing after the grapes. Those are bad for…

by Ane Mulligan  @AneMulligan Go back twenty years 2002. It was my first writers conference. On January 1, 2002, I had started writing a novel. New century—new career. I was a published playwright but got God’s call to write novels. I worked alone until I found an online Christian critique…