by Ane Mulligan  @AneMulligan I've heard it said, "Psychologists are analysts; writers are psychological engineers. They use psychology to engineer story characters." Characterization is complex. Among other things, writers need to know how to engineer characters, design character arcs, weave sympathy and empathy, set up character conflict, show and reveal…

By A.C. Williams by @acw_author  I love complicated stories, don’t you? Stories that reach to far-flung imaginary worlds are my cup of tea, and I love bold heroes who’ve survived tragic backstories that come back to haunt them in unexpected ways. And no matter what story or series I read,…

By W. Terry Whalin @terrywhalin Over the last 20 years Greg Stielstra, author of Pyromarketing, marketed hundreds of Christian books including The Purpose Driven Life. During that time, he noticed a disturbing trend. Some Christian authors sought fame because they believed only celebrities could influence culture. What’s more, they thought to…

by Ane Mulligan  @AneMulligan There are words that are wonderful and words that are—well, not so wonderful. I keep telling myself that, yet I forget when I write and thus inflict a great burden upon my inner editor. Like Alice, I give myself good advice, but I seldom follow it.…

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills A metaphor is a word or phrase that compares something tangible with something intangible that has a psychological meaning. In fiction, the writer crafts a metaphor according to a character’s personality and life experiences. This eliminates clichés that are dull and boring and instead introduces something…

by: Shannon Redmon @shannon_redmon As an author, I’m always striving to give depth to my story’s heroine. The last thing a writer wants is to create a flat, boring character. I learned this lesson after an editor commented about the shallowness of my protagonist. Ouch. The truth hurts sometimes. So,…