Tag: women writers
Writing Loving before Loving: A Marriage in Black and White
If I had a nickel for each time a stranger has told me, “I know my life would be a bestseller!” I’d be wealthy. Sometimes they even offer their story, asking me to simply write it down. “My life has been so amazing, the book would write itself.” Well, not really. Books do not write […]
WRITING LEMONS IN THE GARDEN: NOT FAMOUS ENOUGH
Forty years ago, I had a dream in which Blanche Ames told me to write her autobiography. I’d read about Blanche while I was working on a team to write a massive women’s history reference book, and of course her name caught my attention. Then I learned that Blanche was my grandmother’s aunt. How was […]
Creating the Backstory: A Delicate Art
Characters shouldn’t be simple. In a novel, the “good guys” can’t be saints, and the “bad guys” shouldn’t be wooden demons who do nothing but snarl and bite. The most relatable, admirable, and sympathetic characters require personality flaws and moments of weakness, and the less appealing ones should, sometimes, evoke compassion. In reality, humans are […]
Kris Bock: Bios Made Easy
Kris Bock: Bios Made Easy Writers need bios, for query letters, on websites, for conference brochures. If we are writers surely we can write about ourselves. Yet while coordinating writing conferences, I discovered that even published authors often write poor bios, whether through modesty, carelessness, or overwriting. Many bios are entertaining, but don’t do their […]
Writing Sin Child
I spent my childhood and much of my adult life hiding behind a dark curtain of fear. Fear of what would happen on a daily basis. Fear of all those who judged me and sought revenge based on the doings of my family. Fear of falling asleep at night, not knowing who would be coming […]
The Shelf in the Corner
By Teresa J. Rhyne I write about dogs. There. I said it. Did you scoff? Did you think “she is not a serious writer”? Did the word “cute” pop into your head? No? So, it’s just me. I didn’t plan on writing dog books, or dog-oirs as I call them (memoir meets dog book). I […]
I Feel Qualified to Write About a Luxury Sports Car Despite Never Touching One By Audrey Burges
By Audrey Burges The Lamborghini felt the sun glancing off its sensuous curves and rolled languidly out of the garage. Its headlights were bright and perfectly symmetrical. They poked delicately through the black leather embracing its generously rounded front end, quivering slightly in the cold morning air. The gentle breeze tickled under its hood, making […]
The Challenge of Research in Lockdown
The Challenge of Research in Lockdown It’s been a difficult time for most writers to carry out the research during lockdown, but it’s particularly challenging for authors like me who write historical fiction. I started A Sister’s War, the third of The Victory Sisters trilogy, set in the Second World War in January last year, […]
NOTES FROM THE BATHROOM LINE: AMY SOLOMON INTERVIEW
Titters: The First Collection of Humor by Women was a groundbreaking collection of essays, comics, and ephemera by the leading female comedians of the 1970s that included the likes of Gilda Radner, Candice Bergen, and Phyllis Diller. It pains us to report that there hasn’t been a similar collection of contemporary funny women published since […]
CALL YOURSELF A WRITER
I recently took part in a virtual author event with two other women writers. Let me say how much I have come to appreciate the magic of Zoom video conferencing, aside from not having a paid account which meant getting dumped off the call after forty minutes. No problem, everyone, including the audience, was able […]
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