Author | Editor | Story Coach
This month I’m sharing a portion of THE UNEXPECTED HOMECOMING, a collection of three novellas about the soldier without a mission and the cowboy about to lose the ranch. It is the only story out of six that were written in Melissa Storm’s Sweet Grove that is still published. I adore the meet cute for …
A Little Romance for Your Fiction Friday Freebie Read More »
Last year, one of the most popular posts on this blog was my recounting of blessings near Thanksgiving. This year, I’m counting them again. Did you know that humans have what’s called a negative bias? That means, when we recall things, our mind tends to focus on the bad or hurtful events rather than the …
Author and writing teacher Larry Brooks is famous for saying, “No conflict? No story.” But it can be difficult to understand what creates conflict effectively in your fiction. Because conflict is NOT melodrama. You know, when one character goes on a rant and steps on everyone’s toes and is basically a drama llama. There are …
This month’s excerpt is from the second book in my REFLECTIONS series. A Laboring Hand tells the story I imagined for Martha and her two siblings. We know a few things about them, but much of it always made me curious. Why was Martha in charge? Why wasn’t Lazarus in charge of their family since …
When I ask my clients about their writing weaknesses, a large percentage struggle with crafting great dialogue. If you’re one of those, keep reading for three tips to spice up your on-page conversations. As a developmental editor, unrealistic dialogue is something I run into with most newer writers. The words sound forced and not at …
Plot is the external events in your story. And sometimes, we write ourselves into a corner or we get bogged down in the “muddy middle” of the story. This post offers FOUR ways to boost your plot when the inevitable slowdown occurs. First of all, I want to say that we’re often too nice to …
It’s that time of the month: FREE FICTION. Today’s excerpt comes from a collection of fantasy short stories—featuring cats. For those of you who’ve been following me long, you know I’m a self-proclaimed crazy cat lady. I had so much FUN writing “The Tail of Two Kitlings” for this anthology. Read on for an excerpt …
Are you stuck in your writing process? You’re not alone, my friend. Even multi-published, bestselling authors get stuck sometimes. But how do they get unstuck?That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it? And it’s one that a team of seven certified writing coaches want to help you answer. If you’re discouraged about how few words you’ve written, …
I love fiction, yes I do. I love fiction, what about you? For the next six or seven months, Fiction Friday here on my blog will include excerpts from my published books. Have you read them all? This month’s excerpt comes from my most-reviewed book on Amazon. Probably because it is a title a republished …
August. It’s fast becoming my favorite month of the year because I take a break from social media.