Making a Living as a Writer

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by Chip MacGregor MacGregor Literary Inc. www.chipmacgregor.com I’m often asked by writers how they can make a living with their work – and I usually explain to them that, when you look at writers who are making a living at the craft, you find they come in two basic types: TYPE 1 is the writer who writes all sorts of …

Be Brave. Go Write.

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by Crystal Laine Miller What do you do with your time? “I work, eat, sleep, clean, drive, talk, cook, shop, groom, feed the dog/cat/horse/kids/spouse, eat (oh, wait, I said that,)” ….what else? I read. I write. Sounds simple, hey? Yeah, simple as opening a vein. We know that cliché. I’ve heard my fellow writers complain how real world people don’t …

The Naming Game

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by Sarah Sundin Most authors love the process of finding the perfect character name, but it can also cause headaches. When writing my newest World War II novel, With Every Letter (Revell, September 2012), I took many things into consideration when naming my characters. Does it fit the character? Sometimes the character’s name comes immediately, but other times I search …

Graduation Day

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by Lillian Duncan Randy Ingermanson likens fiction writing to high school. He talks about freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior writers and then there’s graduation day–becoming a published author! How does a writer reach graduation day? There are, of course, different routes to get there-more so now than ever before. This is not discussion on traditional vs. indie publishing. I believe …

Focus Your Premise

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What’s at stake? What’s the story question? by Rachel Hauck Premise Every story needs a basic start: a premise. It’s the foundation for your idea. The premise defines what’s at stake? What the story is about? “What will the protagonist overcome to achieve her goal?” A great premise is the “hook” that grabs the attention of an editor, agent or …

Life with Lily

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By Suzanne Woods Fisher “Your big opportunity may be right where you are now.” Amish proverb I’ve often heard that there is no better childhood than an Amish one. Mary Ann Kinsinger had such a childhood. She was raised in a happy Old Order Amish home in western Pennsylvania. A born storyteller, Mary Ann started a blog, A Joyful Chaos, …