Genre Happenings

The Country-Fried Truth on Writing Southern Fiction

A few years ago I decided to make the transition from writing primarily women’s fiction to writing Southern fiction. Of course, the first question I asked was “What makes Southern fiction … Southern?” Is it grits and greens? Is it cicadas singing so loud on a warm summer’s night you can’t hear yourself think? Is it dinner on the

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For Writers

Christian Self-Promotion

I’m often asked, “How does a Christian justify self-promotion? Aren’t we supposed to die to self and be all about others? What about that verse in Proverbs where we’re told to let others praise us and not praise ourselves?”

First, I love that these Christian writers are committed enough in their walks with Christ to even consider this conundrum. It shows a maturity of faith to spend time discerning how faith plays out in...

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Making A Scene

The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations, Part 3

Now that we’ve covered the thirty-six situations and the five ways they can be changed to create a unique story, how about ways to use them in creating story twists? One way is to lead the reader to think the premise of your plot is one situation, when it’s really been about another situation all along. This is particularly effective when the two situations are opposites.

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Author By Night

Harry Kraus, MD., FACS,

Balancing a writing life and real life is an issue for most of us, until Oprah calls because she is highlighting our books on her show. Since I’m writing this, you can assume she hasn’t phoned me.

For me, my “day job” as a general surgeon is often irregular and turns into my “night job,” too. Nonetheless, I have managed to balance writing and a career in general surgery. This does create...

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