In our last post, we introduced a character named Mary Sue. A Mary Sue character is a character, usually female but not always (you can have a Gary Stu or […]
On Writing
Posts about the craft of writing
Who is Mary Sue and Way Does (Almost) Everyone Hate Her?
If you’re a reader, you’ve probably encountered a Mary Sue (or her male equivalent Gary or Marty Stu). If you’re a writer, the term strikes fear into your heart if […]
A Newsletter…About Newsletters
Mailerlite has threatened us with a fate worse than death if we don’t authenticate and validate our websites. What they’re talking about is making them come from some other location […]
Terms All Readers Should Know
In order to read critically, you should know the correct terminology of a work of literature–a novel, memoir, autobiography, history, etc. Here are 9 terms every reader should know before […]
News from the SCWA Conference
I spent last weekend at the South Carolina Writers Association StoryFest Conference. It was a great little convention, and I learned a lot. We had some good speakers and of […]
Anthology Creation
My chapter of Sisters in Crime is thinking about producing an anthology, so I’m getting in on the ground floor. We’ll see how it goes. So far, it looks immensely […]
100 Tales
Here is a list of writing prompts I found several years ago. It’s called 100 Tales and the idea is to write a story (flash or regular sized) about each […]
The Perfect Character Name
Let’s revisit a post from several years ago! Once you’ve created your perfect character, you have a new problem on your hands: how to name him or her. This can […]
Stay Organized!
As a series writer, I am sometimes asked how I keep everything straight. You know, how do you make sure Cousin Effie’s eyes aren’t brown in Book 1 and blue […]
“Rules for Writing”
I recently found a website that compiled 45 different “Rules for Writing” by various authors. I thought some of those might be nice to revisit here. Mark Twain’s 10 Tips […]