After all, I was afraid. Last year, the writers conference was my fairy godmother, and my every wish came true. This year? I knew what was ahead of me. Work. Hard, brutal, frustrating work. I pitched to an invisible agent the entire drive to the conference. Grew teary over my imperfect one sheets and proposal.... Continue Reading →
Monday Motivation: Interview with Ralene Burke
Hi, Ralene! Thank you for joining us today! How long have you been writing? What inspired your quest to become a writer? I've always been writing, even when I was little. I had a short essay on Martin Luther King Jr. published in a city-wide magazine in the 3rd grade. In 2005, a conversation with the... Continue Reading →
Here There Are Dragons: Overcoming the Unknown in Our Fiction
The cartographer dipped his pen into the ink and hesitated. His finger rested on the spot where the words would go, but he could not bring himself to pen it. On the far end of the table, a lone candle smoked into the dimness of the room, twisting the shadows into gruesome monsters of his... Continue Reading →
Motivation Monday: Interview with Author Anna Grace Michael
Hi, Anna Grace! Thank you for joining us today! How long have you been writing? I started writing short stories when I was a kid in school. I was homeschooled and my mom assigned me and my two older siblings a title of a story each week. We wrote a story based around the title... Continue Reading →
Final Crossings: Dealing with Character Deaths
He came through the door with a smile and a sarcastic comment that set me laughing. I watched my characters fall in love with him. I watched him change their world. Less than a week later, he was dead. I was at my laptop, locked into the intensity of battle, focused on the story's goal. I... Continue Reading →