I think drafting is one of those processes we have to make our own, often through trial and error. There are a few of those when you’re a writer: whether to outline [...]
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by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig Today I thought I’d share just a few things that help me make my writing life just a little easier. Maybe some of them will work for you, [...]
by Elizabeth Spann Craig At some point in 2024, I hit 60 books. That’s 60 original books that I’ve penned. The only reason I noticed this is because my family kept asking me [...]
When I’ve given talks, I’ve frequently mentioned that I grew up in a library. This is pretty much the case. My dad was a high school English teacher, and we were often at [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig Happy New Year! I hope you have a great 2025. I’m still trying to get beyond the feeling that “2025” is squarely in the Jetson’s category. If you’re [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig I’ve read a lot from writers who liken releasing a book to birthing a child. I totally get where they’re coming from; there are plenty of similarities. But [...]
by Mike Martin, @mike54martin.bsky.social Some people believe that Christmas can only be the celebration of the birth of the baby Jesus. Others who are more secular think that it is a time to gather [...]
Sharing the Books I Wrote in the Past Brings Me as Much Meaning and Purpose as Writing Them Did. Here’s Why. By Norman Shabel A fundamental question people grapple with at all stages [...]
Sharing the Books I Wrote in the Past Brings Me as Much Meaning and Purpose as Writing Them Did. Here’s Why. By Norman Shabel A fundamental question people grapple with at all stages [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig Okay, it’s more like 19 years. My first book, a Myrtle Clover, came out in 2005. But I really count my breakthrough as being in 2009 with the [...]
by Mike Martin, @mike54martin Where do stories come from? That’s a question I get asked a lot. So do other writers. The simple answer is that we get our stories from everywhere. Sometimes [...]
by Don Butler, @ButlerDon I once had a newspaper assignment to go to Canada’s west coast with a group searching for the rare white “spirit bear.” I never dreamed that decades later, that [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig Feedback can be an important component of the writing process. Sometimes writers can get so wrapped-up in their stories that they can lose focus on the big picture. [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig Over Christmas last year, I had a bit of a zoo in my house. My husband and I added a young cat to our household, bringing our total [...]
Interview by Hugh Cook Cynthia Beach is the author of The Surface of Water, a timely novel published this year by InterVarsity Press. The novel presents an unflinching, lifting-the-veil portrayal of a [...]
by Hugh Cook On a rainy Saturday morning this spring, Indigo Books, Canada’s largest bookstore chain, arranged an in-store book signing for my novel Heron River. Many of you who read the blogs [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig From everything I’ve seen online through the years, I’d say one of the biggest issues writers face is procrastination. I think the reasons behind the procrastination vary from [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig @elizabethscraig I’m not really sure that “self-care” was in my vocabulary 20 years ago. I would have understood the concept of it, sure, but it never would have really [...]
by Jacque Rosman (Jacqueline Corcoran) People often ask me, “How do you do it all?” I’ve published 20 textbooks, over a hundred journal articles and book chapters, and I’ve written countless book-length fiction [...]
by Rose Atkinson-Carter, @ReedsyHQ Pen names have been around for as long as writers have been writing and getting published. From the days of Samuel Clemens (more widely known as Mark Twain) to [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig There’s something very satisfying about spring cleaning. I focus on looking at my house with a fresh eye, seeing the stuff that needs deep cleaning and that goes [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig There’s an idiom that I often hear, that’s always bothered me a little bit. It’s about “taking the path of least resistance.” It’s usually thought of as being [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig As any long-time reader of this blog will know, I love a routine. The more rote, the better. When I have these established routines, keeping up with my [...]
By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethspanncraig One of the big mysteries to me when I was starting out as a writer was where the drafting “sweet spot” was. Some writers seemed to have things [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig The subject of success . . . mostly how to get it . . . is a popular one for writers. When I pulled the word up in [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig No matter if you’re traditionally published or self-published, you’ll be dealing with lots of writing-related business. Having done both, though, I know you’ll have a bit more as [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig Here’s something writers can get behind as a goal for 2024: reading more. With all the work we do on the writing and promo ends of things, sometimes [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig I’ve talked about using planners regularly here on the blog. Although I also use a digital calendar, there’s something about seeing something physically on a page and then [...]
By Hugh Cook I’ve decided to use the format of a self-interview for this blog. So, here we go. Hugh, you’re a fiction writer, but you also do freelance editing. How did you [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig It’s that scary time of the year again! But what do writers find scary? It turns out there are plenty of things in a writer’s life to give [...]
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