For Writers

Grilling Your Characters: 7 Questions to Make Your Plot Sizzle

Summer days are filled with sunshine and splashing, evenings with the sound of cicadas and aroma of whatever we (or our neighbors) are grilling. For three or four months out of the year, we cook and eat outside whenever possible. But when it comes to writing fiction, grilling is always in...

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Genre Happenings

The Not-So Dark Ages

The Dark Ages in the British Isles were anything but dark. Although Christianity was born in the Holy Land, history reveals that it was given sanctuary and nurtured in the British Isles, beyond the claws of its deadly enemy—the Roman eagle. After the Resurrection and the deaths of the apostles, church history goes dark. We know of some persecution, but not of the wonder of how the new faith...

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DiAnn Direct

Exposition, Narrative Summary, and Internal Dialogue

Novel writing is often compared to fitting all the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle into a wonderful landscape with many layers of depth, beauty, and creativity. Understanding where each piece fits takes time, effort, and lots of sweat. Let’s establish the difference between exposition, narrative summary, and internal dialogue so we can understand if any of these literary techniques fit into your story.

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The Well Writer

Boundaries
Establishing Time and Space to Write Effectively
by Megan DiMaria

If you want to be a writer, there’s no avoiding the fact that you have to write. And to write, you need time and space to create and complete your project.

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Author By Night

I'm Gonna Wait 'Til the Midnight Hour

The midnight hour has long come and gone by the time I finally finish my last email to my publisher. Late night emails are part of the routine of my life now. My new novel, Harvest of Rubies, released three weeks ago, so we are still in the throes of feverish publicity that surrounds the early days of a book’s release.

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