by Bethany Jett, @BetJett I host a weekly online show called Writers Chat and yesterday's topic was how to create setting in our stories. The tips were so great I had to share with our Blue Ridge community. Creating great scenes is not only for fiction writers. Whether you're writing…

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Story ideas can be like fireworks. They soar and explode in beautiful colors…then their dance fizzles to the ground and we turn our attention to the next one. But story ideas don’t have to fade away. A writer can take those wild moments of inspiration and…

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson I remember the first time I ventured onto twitter. It’s an intimidating site, full of unfamiliar terms and strange rules. Beyond that, the more people I followed, the more confusing the newsfeed became. To my untrained eye, all those 140 character bursts were just disjointed and…

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Welcome to Part II of SOS - Settings on Steroids. A character who lives in the setting will not make the same observations as a visitor. A seasoned character's emtions are different from a novice in a specific environment. The seven universal emotions, according to Tonya…

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Ah, setting, the frail stepchild of fiction. How often we neglect this vital member of story, insisting character, plot, dialogue, and emotion are much more important. We dress her in rags, have her clean the chimney, then criticize her for lack of beauty. Setting is the…

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson Today I’d like to give you 26 tips for success with your blog. I’m calling this my ABCs of Blogging. [tweet_box design="default" float="none" inject=" @EdieMelson on @BRMCWC #writing"]Have You Learned the ABCs of #blogging?[/tweet_box] A is for Accessibility—Make sure your blog is easy to find, easy…