If your story starts with anything foreboding—creaking floors, snuffed-out candles, or threatening skies, you’re implying danger or terrible trouble ahead for your main character. Masterful storytellers foreshadow such things with disquieting clues of what’s to come. What is Foreshadowing? And Why is it Important? Foreshadowing is a literary device authors use to lay a foundation […]
Read MoreKnowing the history of your main character allows you to craft a character arc that keeps readers engaged from start to finish. In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, author C.S. Lewis sends the Pevensie children to live with a professor in the English countryside to escape London and the havoc of World War […]
Read MoreSo, you want a writing career… You have your reasons. You’ve long loved to write, and people have told you you have a way with words. But how do you know the time is right or whether you have what it takes? I urge you to immerse yourself in the craft. If you really want […]
Read MoreRegardless how many books I’ve written (over 200) and sold (over 70 million), I fear if I’m not learning, I’m stagnating. My late mother was a convincing example of one who never believed she had arrived. Mom was not only a piano teacher well into her eighties, but she was also a piano student. So […]
Read MoreGuest blog by Tami Nantz If you’re confused about the difference between “voice” and “tone” in writing, you aren’t alone. Many writers conflate the two. Whether you’re writing a novel, a blog post, an article, or a poem, it’s important to know the difference so you can communicate with readers in a way that resonates. […]
Read More