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…

@RhondaRhea A lot of my friends have adopted a more active lifestyle and started new workout routines of late. When they all do it at once like that I’m usually shamed into joining them. This time, I’ve decided to do resistance training. Because nobody resists training like I do. People…

@DiAnnMills Dissecting character motivation ushers in the potential of improving your novel to bestselling status. Writers sift through a character’s behavior to find the inner quality that drives the character into action. This core, the deep physiological problem plaguing our character, must be resolved before the character can change and…

@LisaCarter27 I’ve always been in love with words. Before I learned to read, I can remember rolling words around on my tongue, savoring the flavor of the sounds. Words are powerful. Words can be used for good or evil. As a writer, teacher and speaker, I search to capture just…

@EdieMelson I didn’t always enjoy social media. Before I spent time on the various networks I assumed that interactions there were at best, shallow, with little or no real-world value. I’d formed my opinions by listening to the comments and complaints of others. It wasn’t until I actually took time…