I started to write this post about my first Colorado Gold Conference, and I was struck by how much writing and publishing have changed since the early days of my career. Some things have definitely gotten easier. I printed out the manuscript of my first book on a word processor where you had to feed…
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Create Better Characters in Six Easy Steps
Readers may be intrigued by a good plot. But if your characters are interesting, readers will remember them long after they close the book. It can be tough to create fully fleshed-out, three-dimensional characters. But it’s much easier when you use the PERSON acronym: P is for Personality E is for Experiences R is for…
Running in place–are you ready?
Running in Place. This Denver Post headline caught my eye. The article discusses training for races by using a treadmill. It also describes the state I have found myself in several times during my writer’s journey. Running in place—waiting for a green light, waiting for the starting gun, waiting until the path clears and we…
Rocky Mountain Writer #127
Dacia Arnold & Apparent Power Dacia M. Arnold is an author of adult dystopian and dark fiction. She enjoys writing main characters who are otherwise normal people with extraordinary abilities. Dacia is also a ten-year Army veteran who served two tours of combat as a medic. She didn’t start writing fiction, in fact, until a…
Critique Groups, Part 1: Spotting Toxic Feedback
Over the course of several years (and several groups), I’ve experienced the joy that a healthy critique group can bring. It can invigorate your writing practice, inspire you to work harder, provide friends to celebrate (and commiserate) with, and help your writing skills flourish. But not all groups are created equal. Sometimes groups, or individual…