By Brian Kaufman Flashback to January 2020: I had two books scheduled for release from two publishers. The first was historical about an old bluesman, and I’d planned a legendary release party. Live music, food, and probable fame. Then COVID made hash out of my marketing plan. Meanwhile, the other publisher postponed my second releaseContinue reading “The Year in Review”
Author Archives: Writing Heights Writing Bug
Down in The Exposition Dumps
By Katie Lewis In 7th grade, my best friend lent me the first Wheel of Time book by Robert Jordan. As a veteran of Tolkien, including The Silmarillion, I was excited to dive into another high-fantasy series. Over a hundred pages in, after a detailed description of the Bel Tine festival and one village’s preparations, there was noContinue reading “Down in The Exposition Dumps”
The Evil Twin
By David E. Sharp Whether you are closing in on your NaNoWriMo word count or plugging away at your magnum opus, those rigorous word counts take a lot of think-juice. You have been diligent, laying one word after another, watching the chapters take shape. Your verbs are immaculate. Your adverbs are scarce. You always attendContinue reading “The Evil Twin”
What gets more attention? Description or action?
By Shelley Widhalm If you want to keep readers turning pages, the key is balancing description with action. Readers get bored with too much description, and they get overwhelmed with all action and no breaks. Action in a novel or short story keeps the pace moving at a rapid clip, while description can slow theContinue reading “What gets more attention? Description or action?”
Author Central
By Brian Kaufman The most frustrating part of being a published author has to be marketing. Marketing your books takes two valuable resources (time and money) and offers no guarantees. Worse, for most authors, promotional efforts yield little in the way of results. If you’re not a published author, you might think, Woe is you. I’dContinue reading “Author Central”
The Guts of Good Horror
By Katie Lewis
Proper Care And Feeding of Your Inner Troll
By David E. Sharp The writing journey is a hazardous one, full of setbacks and self-doubt. I remember asking myself why I thought I had a story to tell. I felt like a fraud. The sight of my manuscript in progress would put me into a tailspin of criticism and despair. I wondered if AmazonContinue reading “Proper Care And Feeding of Your Inner Troll”
Spur Your Writing
By Shelley Widhalm As a freelance writer and former journalist, I’ve learned to live by deadlines. And as an anti-procrastinator, I’ve made it my habit to turn in assignments before the due date because facing a ticking clock stresses me out. But when it comes to writing novels and not having a publisher demanding aContinue reading “Spur Your Writing”
Nothing Up My Sleeve
By Brian Kaufman Fantasy fiction employs magic—influencing events through supernatural means. The concept of magic dates back to the dawn of civilization. In Mesopotamia, ritual practices were developed to affect reality. Defensive magic was the accepted protection from demons and ghosts. Rites were used to purify a person’s sins. Another branch of magic involved loveContinue reading “Nothing Up My Sleeve”
Deadlines Made Me A Better Writer
By Katie Lewis School is back in session, the spell of Pumpkin Spice Latte is in the air, and many of us are gearing up for NaNoWriMo. As someone who thrives off of writing deadlines, the key is to plan ahead. Back in March, I talked about how I set myself a weekday writing goal.Continue reading “Deadlines Made Me A Better Writer”
The Writing Bug 