by Lynn H. Blackburn @LynnHBlackburn Not too long ago, I learned to SCUBA dive. I was so excited! I’ve wanted to learn for a long time. Unfortunately, I was NOT a star student. Oh, I did great in class. All the calculations for pressure and volume? No problem. (Who says…

by Aaron Gansky @ADGansky If you’ve been writing long, you’ve heard all the evils of using the passive voice. It sneaks into our prose without permission, and disguises itself among our active sentences like a malevolent chameleon. But unless you teach English classes in all your spare time, there’s a…

By DiAnn Mills, @DiAnnMills It may be nearing 90° where you live, but school has been in session for a couple of months and the theme is fall for our northern hemisphere. Social media is transitioning from juicy strawberries and plump blueberries to apples and pumpkins. Even if we don’t…

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson The publishing industry is like any other—fraught with unwritten rules and etiquette norms.  Add to that the wild wild west of social media and the new writer can commit faux pas that spell career disaster. [tweet_box design="default" float="none" inject="#writing"]Etiquette for Writers—#Publishing Industry Dos & Don'ts -…

by Cherrilynn Bisbano @BisbanoWrites My seventy-five year old widowed mom has a veracious appetite for reading. She loves novels about cats. Yes, she is that cat lady. I have a different palates when it comes to novels. I like suspense thrillers and historical fiction. Some of my younger friends consume…

by Lindsey Bracket @LindsBrac The Enneagram is a great tool for building authentic (and flawed) characters. Experts believe everyone carries tendencies of the nine different types—which makes us (and our characters) incredibly complex. The Enneagram’s focus is discovering what motivates you to act the way you do—which is exactly what…