By Julie Lavender @JLavenderWrites I bought a pack of Dubble Bubble bubble gum the other day to celebrate National Bubble Gum Day. Sure, it was a wild hair, and I really meant to chew a piece or two, challenge my hubby to a bubble blowing contest, then give the rest…

By Aaron Gansky @ADGansky For the most part, a good first chapter does the same thing as a good first page to a deeper extent, there are a few more considerations when writing your opening chapter. While most of the answers to these considerations depend largely upon the genre and…

By Debb Hackett @debb_hackett Happy 2025 everyone, Debb here. Everywhere I look, people are disagreeing about something. In the arts, be they culinary, visual, musical, performance based or writing, we have guidelines that are sort of universal, (show don’t tell, don’t serve raw poultry etc.), but there’s also a lot…

By Tammy Karasek @tickledpinktam I talk about writing conferences often to writers. The replies I receive are as varied as the folks I talk to. Most who have attended are enthusiastic about them, and share their favorites or talk about a new one they’re going to attend this year. We…

by Lynn Blackburn @LynnHBlackburn  While some writers have been writing stories since they could hold a pencil, that wasn’t my experience. I was a reader first. For thirty-five years I fell into books, crawled into stories, and lived there as often as possible. Then one day the stories in my head…

By Alycia Morales @AlyciaMorales We frequently read posts that focus on us as writers and authors. But how often do we pause to consider those who work hard to assist us with our writing endeavors? The mentors, editors, designers, marketing geniuses, branding experts, and so many more? Let’s take a…