Guess what? It’s time to hit on my favorite topic again. Conflict! I’ve already covered types of conflict such as man verses man, man verses nature, etc. This post is going to cover the idea of layering conflict. Life is not simple. Every day we play multiple roles in society Read more
I’m working on editing my manuscript, and part of that is eliminating excess words. These fluff words can usually be deleted or replaced with fewer but more descriptive words. By eliminating them, you cut down your word count and make the text clearer. Below is a list of words I Read more
Fight scenes are something a lot of authors struggle with in their books. Most of us are not professional fighters, but the good new is you don’t have to be to write a good fight scene. The best fights have a few action sequences sandwiched between sensory details and internal Read more
In most books, someone dies. Unfortunately, it’s usually obvious who will be the victim. Authors know they need to have some sort of death in their stories, but they may not put a lot of effort into developing that death. It may sound odd, but there is an art to Read more
I recently finished reading a fabulous book and was left with a mind-blowing question about the writing. How did the author write a plot that ended so badly but left me feeling satisfied? There was no doubt that what could go wrong did go wrong in this book, but I Read more
Agent Amy Brewer from Metamorphosis Literary Agency is my last interview from the writers conference. She represents a wide range of books, from middle grade to book club reads to romance. She is outgoing, fun, and very easy to talk to—even if you’re a nervous author. If you get the Read more
Holly Atkinson is a freelance editor, and her company is called Evil Eye Editing. She was gracious enough to do a last-minute interview with me at the end of the writing conference, and I am truly grateful. She had some good insight for authors on editing. She is also an Read more
At the writers conference, I interviewed Ally Robertson, editor with The Wild Rose Press and suspense author. She is a wealth of information since she works on the editing side as well as the writing side. I learned so many tidbits on how to improve my manuscript from just a Read more
Bestselling author Steven James was gracious enough to take the time to answer a few of my questions—even though he was the keynote speaker at the writers conference and had a ton on his plate. Steven is genuine and funny, and it was such a pleasure to meet him. He Read more
I had the chance to interview bestselling author Heather Burch at a regional writers conference. She writes Young Adult and Adult novels, and she is the most organized author I have had the opportunity to learn from in my career. If you want some expert advice and insight, this woman Read more