Hi, friends! I’ve written before about how well positive thoughts work for me…and about how I have a hard time with positive self-talk, like most people do! So if you’re looking for how to think positive, these are some fun and silly—okay, straight-up cheesy—ways to do it. Even though these self-compliments are tongue-in-cheek, and you may roll your eyes a

Hi, talented writers! Welcome to the last WIP Wednesday of 2019! Some of you did NaNoWriMo, so I know you have new work to share! For the uninitiated, WIP Wednesday is where I share a little bit of work in progress and invite you to share an excerpt of your own work in the comments section. Here are the rules!

People often ask, “What are some good romance novels for men?” Some guys actually do read romance—they make up about 15% of the readership, in fact. But if you’re a guy who’s never read the genre and you’re curious, or if you’re a female romance reader who would like to introduce romance to a man in your life, here are

I’m sharing a very basic character development worksheet today because I think it’s one great way to get to know your characters better!    There are some very complicated worksheets out there, but even a simple one like this can lead you to better insights and even inspire plot points. I’m also sharing a trick for making a character lovable

Hey friends! I am still waiting on my edits for The Equinox Stone, and meanwhile, I’ve started collaborating on a book trailer for it. I originally hadn’t been planning on doing a second trailer, but since I’m getting YouTube subscribers due to my new series, Blank Page to Final Draft , I figured, why not? The trailer for The Equinox

A few weeks back, I spent some time on online forums where high school students were talking about applying to colleges. It was research for a very short scene in The Equinox Stone (and I am always guilty of over-researching in my writing.) I was really struck by how these kids seemed to think their future prospects and their whole

What is the definition of a fiction genre? It’s simply a category of literature. It determines, among other things, what shelf it sits on in a bookstore or a library. For readers, it’s good to be aware of different fiction genres. Sometimes we can widen our horizons and read a book in a genre we don’t often explore. For writers,