by A.C. Williams @ACW_Author Laughter is good medicine, my friends, and we laugh a lot in my family. Granted, usually we’re laughing because otherwise we’d be crying. Life has been a struggle for a long season, but rather than wallowing in much-deserved and certainly justified angst and exhaustion, we choose…

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Writing effective dialogue means being true to our premise, theme, setting, characters, and genre. Let’s examine the guidelines and characteristics for popular genres. Romance The story is about two people who are romantically involved. The plot focus is love—the characters must overcome differences, obstacles, and make…

By Aaron Gansky @ADGansky You hear writers often mention the “fictive dream.” John Gardner called it a “vivid and continuous dream.” It’s a term used to describe a simple principle: no one wants to read a book. There, I said it. Man, it feels good to get that off my…

by Blythe Daniel @ByltheDaniel I was in journalism class in college and remember my professor saying in red ink, “What’s the hook to draw in your reader”? Headlines were the prize I was aiming for. Sadly it felt like that was harder to nail down than the story. Today, I…

by Rhonda Rhea @RhondaRhea It’s satisfying to find new ways to get to know people. For instance, I learn a lot when I see how a person responds to an expiration date. One person’s red alert: “You ate that Shredded Wheat a day after the date on the box? Thou shalt…

By Larry Leech @LarryJLeechII Oh so many questions. Music or no music? At home or at a coffee shop? With friends or by oneself? Work on a blog or a book? First person or third person? Short chapter or long chapter? Write or edit? A popular villain in the “Batman”…