You’ve heard the term “perfect storm,” right? Just so we’re all on the same page, let me define it for you: a perfect storm is a particularly bad or critical state …
Scene Equation: How to Start a Scene
When you unpack a novel, it is nothing more – and nothing less – than a series of scenes strung together. String the scenes together in the proper order – …
When Dream is a Four Letter Word
I am a huge proponent of dreams. I’m not talking about the “while you’re sleeping” kind of dreams – although those are just fine. I’m talking about the “pursue them …
A Look Back At ACFW 2014: 5 Reasons Why You Should Attend a Writers Conference
Yes, I am a mere 4 days back from St. Louis and the 2014 ACFW conference — and my suitcases are unpacked. This, alone, is nigh unto a miracle. I …
When an Author’s Backstory Sparks a Story Idea
At the very first My Book Therapy (MBT) Storycrafters Retreat in 2010, Susie May Warren had the attendees complete a seemingly simple – and insignificant – exercise on page nine of our workbooks.
I kept that workbook, the one with the working title of my manuscript scribbled inside the front cover: Wish You Were Here. Thanks to that weekend and how it changed my life and my writing, Wish You Were Here became a “real book” in 2012.
And I refer back to that seemingly insignificant exercise on page nine time and time again.