By James R. Hannibal Long ago, while attending the US Air Force Academy and working as a summer survival instructor, I wandered away from a campsite looking for firewood. Our search took us deep into the unmarked woods of the Rocky Mountains’ front range, where the sun sets quickly. The light dimmed. The air grew colder. One of my students—we’ll …
Plot Twists: The Paralegal Chronicles
By Kathleen Y’Barbo Next year I will celebrate twenty years of being a published author. This year I surpassed the 90-book mark and reached more than two million copies in sales. Where have the years gone? When I sat down at my Canon StarWriter word processor, I had no idea that someday I would be looking back with a body …
Tips for Fighting the Dreaded Writer’s Block
By Amy Clipston Through the years I’ve found that my book projects fall into two categories—they either write themselves or writing them feels like having my teeth drilled. In other words, the characters either tell me the story or I push them through the story as if they were dead weight. My book Room on the Porch Swing, which releases …
Twisting “Write What You Know”
by Gail Gaymer Martin When writers search for plot ideas, seasoned authors often respond write what you know, but I’ve found that this phrase means more than I’d thought. If we stick with what we know, our books could become boring, but one way to write what I know is through experiences. I’ve done this more than once. Being a …
Weaving a Story Web
by Ann H. Gabhart I’m guessing some of you may have walked into a spider web at some time in your life. You probably weren’t that happy to be wrapped in those silken threads while swatting at your hair to make sure the spider didn’t hide out there to later crawl down your shirt. But have you ever taken the …
3 Writing Cues from The Flash
By Beth K. Vogt “The Flash” is must-watch TV in the Vogt household. On Tuesday nights, my husband, teen daughter, and I hunker down in the family room eager to see what’s going to happen in Central City, home to Barry Gordon, a.k.a. The Flash, as well as his friends and enemies. I walk away from every episode thinking, “I …