Writing Characters Who'll Keep Readers Captivated: Nail Your Novel by Roz Morris

Using the workplace as more than a backdrop can supercharge the stakes, conflict, and character development of your fiction.

For once, autocorrect was right: it’s a duck pic By Allison K Williams After moving to Portugal, I’ve learned a lot more about food. Nectarines are seasonal here, and no, you can’…

Lifeform Three by Roz Morris

and other news from my glamorous life

“I write in the perfume of the dream.” In his latest book, Rodger Kamenetz blends dreamwork and poetic imagination to offer pathways toward a more meaningful life, while also exploring …

Thoughts on loss and horses.

Good writing means staying true to your characters

Ever Rest by Roz Morris

By Rhonda J. Ray I awoke from a sleepless night, restless about choosing a topic for an essay. Standing by the kitchen window as I scooped coffee and listened to rain pattering outside, I thought a…

A diary of life in a hostile landscape + reading guide + a giveaway!

On our shelves were a handful of worn, black and white picture books of the old country. Czechoslovakia. Prague. This was where my people were from, and not in some distant past—my mother had escap…

Starting a story is always a challenge. You have to do a lot at once, but not too much. Don’t overwhelm the reader, don’t confuse, don’t info-dump, don’t send misleading signals, don’t lose the rea…

Starting a story is always a challenge. You have to do a lot at once, but not too much. Don’t overwhelm the reader, don’t confuse, don’t info-dump, don’t send misleading signals, don’t lose the reader’s interest. Sometimes you can start in medias res. Get to the action fast. Open with a murder, or a character on the brink of something life-changing, or a character coming in late and trying to learn about everything, so the reader is in step with them (detective fiction is an example).

Writers often ask, “How do I find book clubs?—but the better question might be, “How do book clubs find me—and my book?” My first invitation came from a friend of a friend—a small gathering …

Learn techniques for creating memorable, effective sidekicks who enhance your cozy mystery series and help with reader engagement.

to the spaces that hold us when our children move on