Tag: featured
The Untended by Mattea Kramer: Excerpt
Against the backdrop of an ongoing addiction crisis and evolving mental health crisis — now especially for parents — the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma are back in the news with a new settlement offer for their role in fueling the opioid epidemic; while the United Nations has sounded an alarm about what it calls “the burnout economy: poverty and […]
The Fairy Tale Heroine’s Journey: A Structure for Writers
by Kate Farrell Tired of the hero’s journey that dominates our cultural narratives? Explore the exceptional and unique challenges of the heroine’s journey as depicted in ancient, feminine myths and fairy tales. Learn how to use the heroine’s quest in your creative writing for any genre: fiction, nonfiction, memoir, and more! Using the circular narrative […]
Authors Interviewing Characters: Lee Adams
LOVE ON TOUR For fans of Jennifer Weiner and Helen Fielding, a debut contemporary women’s fiction novel about a woman in the country music industry navigating the ins and outs of friendship, love, jealousy, and life on tour. Who knew a broken heel and bad fall would result in falling in love? Though she has her dream […]
Beta Readers Are Critical To An Author’s Success
Rachel Callaghan is the author of Under Water, Devils Knob (with its sequel) and the dark comedy Grab the Groom. She hosts the Dark and Outrageous Humor Author Interviews series, People often ask about the need for beta readers and how to get them. Yes, most writers need them. Yes, your friends and family can be beta readers […]
Keeping Promises to Ourselves and Getting to the Finish Line—- and Beyond
By Lynne Shaner I started writing what would become my debut novel more than ten years ago. The first draft was messy and awful and all over the place, in the way firsts drafts are (mine, anyway). I printed it out it and boxed it up and lugged it halfway across the country. I tucked […]
On The Inspiration for Violet is Blue by Anne Shaw Heinrich
It wasn’t until I was an adult that I understood the gravity of a bounced check. Once I figured out that a checkbook was only as good as my rapidly fluctuating account balance at the bank, the act of writing a check to pay for anything felt like risky business. A bounced check can represent […]
Three Goals of a Great Story
By Jane Kirkpatrick Some years ago, at a conference called the Festival of Faith and Writing, I heard Joyce Carol Oates speak about what makes a great story. This multi-published and award-winning author of a National Book Award Book, the Pushcart Prize, a Guggenheim Fellowship and so many more accolades, named three things. A great […]
Empowering Stories: The Strength of Writing Communities
Empowering Stories: The Strength of Writing Communities Creating a writing community was not one of those things I imagined in my future when I was young. And yet, it is something for which I’m deeply grateful, especially in this time of midlife. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve spent my lifetime journaling, reading, even writing a few […]
Structuring A Memoir To Keep The Audience And Yourself Intrigued
By Candice Black I made numerous attempts at writing a memoir before completing my first and I always seemed to get stuck within the first two chapters. The majority of ‘Emerging: An Artistic Practice Saved My Life’ was written over the course of a month, my suddenly ability to write the book I’d wanted to […]
Elevator Pitches, Blogs, Blurbs and Reviews: SPOILERS from Authors’ and Readers’ Perspectives
By Catherine Kullman “Write about the inspiration for your latest book,” Barbara Bos suggested. “What is your [new] book about?” A seemingly innocent question that can put the heart across the most experienced author, and one that requires different answers depending on who is asking. If it is your editor or agent, they want a […]
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