When a Newbie Writes a Series by Julie Arduini
In May, I had the privilege of finishing my first contemporary romance series, Surrendering Time. I'd never planned on writing a series, and the experience taught me a lot. Here's how I went from writing for fun to being multi-published. GETTING STARTED When I started Entrusted (Book 1) years ago, I [...]
Author Interview: Jan Drexler
A lot of authors write about the Amish and Mennonite communities, but Jan Drexler has a special connection to the Amish and Mennonite - her ancestors! Today Jan tells us why she writes, how she learned to do it, and more! What genre do you write? How did you pick [...]
Why It’s Okay (and Beneficial) to Not Work Every Day
After my husband and I got married, I discovered several quirks that I hadn’t noticed when we were dating, like dropping everything within a five-foot radius of the front door and putting unfinished plates of food (complete with silverware) back in the refrigerator uncovered. The most difficult one for me [...]
The Five C’s – Tips for Great Character Development by Diogenes Ruiz
Some of you may remember the old Cracker Jack boxes that contained a prize. The prize was a cheap plastic ring or toy of some sort, but that didn’t matter. Getting to the prize made you spill half the box just to find it. Imagine the disappointment if there hadn't been [...]
Fiction Writing: Dialogue Part 3 – That’s What She Said
We’ve already talked about writing authentic dialogue and making sure the pacing works, but it doesn’t matter how well you write your dialogue if the reader doesn’t know who’s talking. Your dialogue needs one of two kinds of tags: conventional or action. Conventional Dialogue Tags There are three generally accepted [...]