by Katy Kauffman @KatyKauffman28 Outlines are our friends, or are they? I loved making outlines in my seminary class because they provided structure for the speeches I prepared. Things changed. In recent years, I dreaded making outlines as I wrote books and blog posts. They seemed to confine the feeling…

by Aaron Gansky @adgansky When an idea for a novel pops into our minds, the first thing we like to do is flesh out a few major plot points, which is fine. But, it can become a problem when we race our characters from one place to the next simply…

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 Alycia W. Morales @AlyciaMorales As the Carolinas prepare for Hurricane Florence this week, we are reminded that there are things to do and have in place before she arrives, things to do when she arrives, and things to do after she dies out. As writers, it's important to recognize…

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson  Choosing to stand up and be identified as a writer can be a scary thing. The road is rarely a straight path to publication. These are some things that I hope will help you stay the course as you continue on your own writing journey. [tweet_box…

by Alycia W. Morales @AlyciaMorales The kids have recently gone back to school and are settling into their school routines. Fall is just around the corner, and pumpkin spice everything has hit the shelves. But now is not the time to shelve our writing projects. Instead, here are 10 back-to-school…