by Jill Williamson | Jul 8, 2020 | Fantasy, poetry
We have reached the end of our summer poetry unit. I hope you all had fun waxing poetic. I’ve certainly enjoyed reading your clever creations. I’ve decided to end this unit with a retro repost from 2013. I’ve updated it a bit, since I’ve...
by Stephanie Morrill | Jul 6, 2020 | Beginning Writer's Guide To Finishing A Novel, Characters, Editing
I hope our U.S. writers had an enjoyable and safe 4th of July! Ours was weird with fireworks shows cancelled, but I did go to a friend’s house and watch Hamilton on Disney+. After years of hearing about how great the show is, I was happy for the opportunity to...
by Stephanie Morrill | Jul 3, 2020 | Guest Posts, Reading, The Craft of Writing
Taylor Bennett is a dandelion-wishing, world-traveling lover of books, words, and stories. Based in the PNW, she dreams of seeing the world and writing stories set in unique locations. Although she dreams of traveling to many different places, her favorite destination...
by Jill Williamson | Jul 1, 2020 | poetry
A haiku (pronounced Hi-KOO) is a traditional Japanese poem that seeks to capture a moment in time, like taking a snapshot, usually about nature. Considering the history of Buddhist influence in the country of Japan, the haiku also often conveys a profound statement of...
by Stephanie Morrill | Jun 29, 2020 | Writing
Stephanie here. I’m so excited we have Shonna Slayton with us today! Shonna has written a book on fairy tale retellings, which I know many of you write! Not only does she have wisdom to share today, she is giving away two copies of her ebook Lessons Learned From...
by Stephanie Morrill | Jun 26, 2020 | Characters, Guest Posts
Stephanie here! We are so thrilled to have Roseanna with us today! Roseanna and I have been friends since 2007 when we met at the American Christian Fiction Writers conference. We both had baby bumps, the same red briefcase, and were much younger than most attendees...
by Jill Williamson | Jun 24, 2020 | poetry
Ever felt the need to praise someone or something? Did you know that’s what the ode is all about? Odes are lyrical poems that share the author’s feelings toward a person, place, thing, or idea. Odes originated in Ancient Greece and were usually accompanied by music....
by Stephanie Morrill | Jun 22, 2020 | Beginning Writer's Guide To Finishing A Novel, Editing
I’m not going to swear that my method for editing will work for you, but it has served me well over the years. As a kid, I always thought of editing as “tidying up” whatever words I already had on the page. I’m not sure when I realized that...
by Jill Williamson | Jun 19, 2020 | Author Life, Book Proposals, Getting Published, Guest Posts, Learning from Other Authors, Writing
Do you live outside the USA or Great Britain? Are you wondering if agents, editors and publishers in those countries will still be interested in your books? As a Canadian author who has published eight novels in both the USA and England, including at least one UK...
by Jill Williamson | Jun 17, 2020 | poetry
I don’t know about you, but I’ve always thought of sonnets as love poems. As it turns out, many sonnets are about love, but sonnets can be written about other things as well. A sonnet comes from the Italian sonetto, which essentially means “little song.”...
