How To Spot A Book Addict

These addicts may physically live in our world, but their minds continually seek fresh planets of habitation.

The One Thing That Keeps You From Success

I am a coward. I sat down with an author friend in a coffee shop last week. After sharing stories, she asked what my next step would be. I knew what I'm supposed to say ---follow up with agents and publishers who expressed interest in my book--- but instead I hesitated. "Well?" my friend said. "When...

Write Pursuit: My Conference Experience

After all, I was afraid. Last year, the writers conference was my fairy godmother, and my every wish came true. This year? I knew what was ahead of me. Work. Hard, brutal, frustrating work. I pitched to an invisible agent the entire drive to the conference. Grew teary over my imperfect one sheets and proposal....

Here There Are Dragons: Overcoming the Unknown in Our Fiction

The cartographer dipped his pen into the ink and hesitated. His finger rested on the spot where the words would go, but he could not bring himself to pen it. On the far end of the table, a lone candle smoked into the dimness of the room, twisting the shadows into gruesome monsters of his...

Motivation Monday: Interview with Author Anna Grace Michael

Hi, Anna Grace! Thank you for joining us today! How long have you been writing? I started writing short stories when I was a kid in school. I was homeschooled and my mom assigned me and my two older siblings a title of a story each week. We wrote a story based around the title...

Courageous Pens: Overcoming Fear in Our Writing

There are voices in my head. Dozens of voices. Clamoring. Demanding. Critiquing. They are the voices of my future readers, and they are the reason I am afraid to write. There are days when I want to find some group of Writers Anonymous and blurt out my confession. [Stands on trembling legs and with head...

Shattered: When Your Words Seem Broken Beyond Repair

I closed my eyes and the blue glow of my laptop screen blinked through the darkness. I could hear nothing but the erratic beat of my heart. The story inside me was silent. Dead. I whispered my characters' names, seeking the connection that had been present only days before. For hours I'd searched for a way...

Open The Door to the Past: Research and the Making Of Historical Fiction.

You know the feeling. You pick up a novel that promises to transport you into another world and another time, but instead it is a weak imitation of the modern world. The characters spout modern slang, strut around with modern mindset and attitude. But, hey, their clothes. They're different. And, say, have you noticed the date? A.D. 300. Surprise!...

Tired Of Being Unpublished? Read On. . . .

Don't fall into the trap of writing to be famous. To make money. To gain esteem. Write to release the story within you.