From Idea to Story: Situation & Complications

by Chris Eboch

AdvancedPlotting200People often ask writers, “Where do you find your ideas?” But for a writer, the more important question is, “What do I do with my idea?”

If you have a “great idea,”

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Travel Essays: Your Inner Wanderer at Large in the World

by Teresa Cutler-Broyles

ADreamThatKeepsReturning169In 1987 I attended a writers’ conference in San Diego, California, and one of the most engaging speakers was a travel writer who spoke in big words about the romance and excitement of a travel writing career—the free flights,

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10 Stages of Writing Achievement

by Sherri Burr

SherriBurrHow do you determine when you are making progress as a writer? I submit that there are at least 10 stages to measuring writing achievement.

Stage 1: Conceptualize an Idea
Ideas emerge from an infinite number of sources,

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An Interview with Author Larry Greenly

Larry Greenly brings a diverse background to his writing life, having been a physics teacher, a civil engineer, and a doctor of chiropractic before beginning a career as a writer and editor over 25 years ago. His YA narrative biography,

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Misused Words: Farther/Further, Few/Less, That/Which

by Dodici Azpadu

061957-firey-orange-jelly-icon-people-things-people-singing200Most standard grammar texts include a section of pairs of words that are frequently misspelled and misused. If you are in doubt about a usage, look it up. You can’t rely on the computer grammar checker.

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Finding My Writer’s Voice

by Olive Balla

Olive Balla245

Science tells us no two humans are exactly alike, that each of us is a distinctive amalgamation of DNA and life experiences. It follows, then, that inside every writer lives a one-of-a-kind Voice,

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Writing Verse Novels

by Caroline Starr Rose

Blue Birds200Have you ever considered writing a novel in verse? Verse novels are stories told through unrhymed poetry. If the format sounds interesting, here are some things to keep in mind:

Is the subject matter right for poetry?

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An Interview with Author Olive Balla

Olive Balla is a great-grandmother, retired educator, part-time professional musician, and novelist. Her love of storytelling began as a child with inventing stories—especially ghost stories—to entertain her friends. After she got serious about writing, it took a journey of almost seven years to see her debut mystery/suspense novel in print.

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On Being Woefully Platformless

by Bentley Clark

Out of Ones Head1I first heard the term “writer’s platform” in 2009 at the annual From Start to Sales Writers Conference at UNM Continuing Education in Albuquerque, New Mexico. As I am given to daydreaming, I imagined a café at a London train station populated with authors feverishly writing in poetically tattered Moleskines.

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Backstory: TMI (Too Much Information)

by Sarah Baker

OnlyAmelia169Some of you may have come into this fantastic world of writing by a logical path; you aced junior high grammar, paid close attention to high school composition instructors, earned degrees in creative writing,

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