by Cindy Sproles @CindyDevoted I wanted this post to be relaxed and personal. The things I want to chat about are not craft-directed, but “author” personal. So, grab your cup of Joe, and let's talk reader care. As writers, we're told continually to build our platform, but we hear little…

By W. Terry Whalin @terrywhalin Because I’m involved in publishing, publishers and authors will send me books to review. As a literary agent or editor, writers will send email pitches or book proposals or manuscripts in the mail for consideration. If I am not consciously organizing this material, it does not…

by Lynn Blackburn @LYNNHBLACKBURN  I recently survived another deadline. I’m in the teens at this point. Was it the thirteenth? Fourteenth? I’ve lost track. Regardless, after this many deadlines, you might think that would mean I was prepared for the aftermath. You would be wrong. Even though I should have known…

By Aaron Gansky @ADGansky Often, as writers, we tend to take the path of least resistance. We’ll throw in a tired, worn-out cliché because it’s easier than actually thinking of an original description. The result is a lot of the same stories with the same characters and the same “plot-twists.”…

by Rhonda Rhea @RhondaRhea Buffet strategies. I have them. Mostly they fail, but I have them. Stratagem one: load up the plate on the first go-round so I don’t have to go back. But guess what. I always have to go back. It’s a buffet. The beauty of the buffet is…

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Oh, the curse of redundancy. It slashes through our writing with woes from our readers. The practice can cost a writer publication or lose readers. Expendable words and phrases don’t have to destroy our writing projects. A writer can master techniques to avoid them. Remember the…