Where Does a Writer Go for Reliable Tech & Publishing Industry Info?

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson

I get asked this question a lot. There is so much information out there—and most of it incorrect or at least misleading—that we’re all afraid to just ask Google for help. So today I’m going to share some of the places I got to get information and verify the information I get. 

13 Attitudes to Change if You're Struggling as a Writer

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson

Choosing to be a writer can be a daunting prospect. It involves courage, creativity, and yes, commitment. When we’re unwilling to make that commitment, we can doom ourselves to failure before we’ve had a chance to succeed. 

This post isn’t meant to beat anyone up, but rather to make us aware of some of the things that could be holding us back on our writing journey.

Take Heart, After a Writing Winter Spring DOES Come

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson

Sometimes we have a difficult writing winter. That’s what I call a season of writing discouragement. When that happens, it can mimic a hard winter season. 

The following is what I experienced one spring, following a difficult winter. 

How to Make the Characters You Write Credible and Believable

by Zena Dell Lowe @ZenaDellLowe

Believability—credibility—is one of the foundational principles of all good storytelling. The acid test of any successful story is, does it work? By “work,” I mean, does your audience buy it? Do they accept the situation and characters you’ve created as real? Do they believe what’s happening? And since the finest writing arcs or changes the inner nature of the character over the course of the telling, does your audience believe that your character is changing in a believable way?

Simply put, your audience needs to believe it. They need to be convinced that you are giving them an accurate depiction of who your character is, what they are like, and what they must accomplish over the course of the telling. Here are a few key tips to help writers enhance the credibility and believability of characters.

Five People You Might Meet at Your Next Writing Conference

By Lori Hatcher

If you’ve ever attended a writing conference, you’ve likely met one or all of these five people.

Fiction Writing Tips: What Is Your Hero Pursuing?

by Henry McLaughlin @RiverBendSagas

We’ve all heard story is about conflict and tension. And that is definitely true.

Stories about happy people living in Happy Valley don’t excite readers. Frankly, they can be boring. 

The story becomes a story when something disrupts the status quo. As John LeCarré once said, “The cat sat on the mat is not a story. The cat sat on the dog’s mat—now that’s a story.” 

Here’s another way to look at it: Stories are about the pursuit of happiness. It’s even in the Declaration of Independence. Happiness is unique to each individual. 

10 Ways to Know You Have Too Many Characters in Your Manuscript

by DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills

Writers enjoy creating a cast of characters. The process of developing distinct story players with unusual physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual traits fills us with satisfaction. But how do we know when we have too many?

The dilemma of too many characters often occurs on the first page when more than two story players struggle for the point of view. We want the reader to identify with one character and establish a sympathetic bond. The writer invites the reader to invest hours and energy to walk the same journey as a story player. Using more than two characters in the beginning often confuses the reader, and confusion leads to putting the story aside.