By Heather Kreke @HKreke I saw a meme of a picture of a ninety-eight degree angle. It read, “This is a 98° angle… You’re welcome, perfectionists.” The point of the meme was to annoy perfectionists who’d insist upon a 90° angle. Now, I don’t really consider myself a perfectionist (although…

By Darlene L. Turner @darlenelturner As children, we loved to play in our imaginary worlds. We’d make up stories for our dolls, barbies, trucks, build forts and have wars, etc. If you’re a writer, I’m guessing you probably even had an imaginary friend or two, right? Confession time . . .…

by Shannon Thomas @AuthorShannonT I love a red pen. I love what it symbolizes. I love the power it possesses. As a writer, I'm also terrified of it, like many of us are. But I've learned that the red pen is a necessary tool that can often be approached with…

by Lynn Blackburn @LYNNHBLACKBURN I’m a firm believer that you can learn lessons about your writing life anywhere—as long as you’re paying attention. Case in point? I got the idea for this blog post from taking my oldest to three different orthodontists. Stay with me. My daughter has disabilities and nothing—nothing—is…

by Katherine Hutchinson-Hayes @khutch0767 As a mom of three talented athletes, I’ve spent countless hours cheering from the sidelines of track meets. Each of my children had their specialty—one a sprinter, one a long-distance runner, and one who did a bit of everything. Watching them compete was exhilarating, but over…

By Aaron Gansky @ADGansky If you’ve followed my blog much, you’ll know how much importance I put on the first line. Just as important, and just as tricky, is the final line. If I could make one observation from my years as a literary editor, I’d say that the best…