By Darlene L. Turner @darlenelturner Authors begin a new story by creating and building their characters—the hero, heroine, and villain, but shouldn’t we also consider the setting as a character? How can we do this effectively? Here’s what I’ve learned on this subject. Setting is where your story resides. Could be…

@Tamela_Murray Each author is unique, so are proposals. This series doesn’t cover all possible categories but highlights many challenging components of book-proposal writing. My goal is to help authors know what editors and agents want to see and to offer tips on how to get out of the slush pile…

By Cindy Sproles @CindyDevoted I recently corresponded with a writer who told me she attended a conference where pitching your work seemed to be “the thing,” but at the same time, there were no classes to help her learn how to pitch. This greatly disturbed me because, though pitching your…

by Lynn Blackburn @LYNNHBLACKBURN I’m a firm believer that you can learn lessons about your writing life anywhere—as long as you’re paying attention. Case in point? I got the idea for this blog post from taking my oldest to three different orthodontists. Stay with me. My daughter has disabilities and nothing—nothing—is…

By W. Terry Whalin @terrywhalin Every summer, Peru, Indiana has a local circus to celebrate the history of the town. Students train all year for these performances. That summer one student walked the high wire on stilts. Each time the crowd gasp because he performed without a safety net. As an…

By Aaron Gansky @ADGansky Often, as writers, we tend to take the path of least resistance. We’ll throw in a tired, worn-out cliché because it’s easier than actually thinking of an original description. The result is a lot of the same stories with the same characters and the same “plot-twists.”…