Review: Time To Write by Kelly L. Stone

Kelly L. Stone. Time to Write. Adams Media, 2008 Review by Betty Winslow Having a hard time carving out time to write? Yeah, me too. Life is often so full of responsibilities, distractions, crises, and interruptions that getting anything extra done seems impossible. Novelist and freelance writer Kelly L. Stone completely understands; she established her own freelance writing career while holding down a … Read more

From The Dishwasher Froths Success

By C.S. Paquin Success as a freelance writer has come from the dishwasher— no, not via a lucrative commercial-copy gig bubbling with the attributes of a kitchen appliance, but from the old dishwasher installed in our new apartment. The state of my kitchen defines my professional success and pre-dishwasher, chaos reigned! Last night’s dishes piled … Read more

Character-driven or Action-driven?

By Martha Alderson Most writers have a preference for one style of writing over another. Some writers are more adept at developing complex, interesting, and quirky characters. Others excel at page-turning action. The lucky writers are good at creating both the character emotional development plotline and the dramatic action plotline. Become aware of your strength … Read more

Better Interview Questions

By Ben Baker Writing the story is only part of the process. You have to get information first. If you interview enough people, sooner or later you will come across someone who replies to everything in monosyllables, grunts, and short sentences that give you the very barest minimum of facts. No matter how good your … Read more

Breaking Out Of Writer’s Block

By Apryl Duncan You stare at the blank page. The white of the page embeds itself in your brain, resulting in your mind going blank. Breaking out of the block doesn’t have to be a mind-boggling challenge, though. Explore the causes and the cure and you’ll be writing again in no time. Common Causes Unrealistic … Read more

Interview with Kathie Fong Yoneda

Reading Between The Lines: An Interview with Kathie Fong Yoneda By Christina Hamlett What is Hollywood looking for? Ms. Kathie Fong Yoneda has seen it all in 25+ years of story analysis and development at Paramount, MGM, Columbia, Walt Disney, 20th Century Fox, Filmways, Inc. and Universal Pictures. An accomplished speaker, author, and international teacher, she … Read more

Active and Passive Voices

By Genevieve Fosa I was surprised to find out how many otherwise well-educated people are confused over the meaning and use of active and passive voices. In a nutshell, with active voice, the subject does whatever it is, and with passive voice, whatever it is is done to the subject by an amorphous other. Editors … Read more

What’s Your Novel About?

By Marilyn Henderson You have finished your novel and are attending a writers’ conference hoping to get an agent or editor to read your manuscript. You work your way through the crowd with your gaze focused at name-tag level. Suddenly you spot a gold-bordered tag reserved for editors. Heart pounding, you approach and introduce yourself … Read more

Is Your Writing a Business or a Hobby?

By Kelly James-Enger Chances are you began writing because you loved to capture your words on the page. Then, as you continued to write, you may have decided to pursue publication. What could be better than seeing your work in print? Why, discovering that you could get paid—sometimes well—for your writing. Whether you write for … Read more

Writing a Great Short Story

By Lee Masterson Short stories can be an excellent way to break into the competitive field of fiction publishing. Novel publishers are more willing to look at work written by an author whose work has already appeared in print. Magazines and periodicals love the short form, so selling the work can often be simpler than … Read more