Hear Us Roar, the weekly podcast I host for the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, has been going since May 2018. The show has been downloaded over 27,000 times and the guests have ranged from authors who later hit the best-seller lists (Julie Clark, Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai), won prestigious awards (Barbara Linn Probst, Jeannee Sacken),…
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Make Your Characters More Relatable
Honestly, I was kinda blogged out—until, after a multitude of phone calls and emails to kickstart a LOA from my night job, the following thought occurred to me: “Rainey, you forgot to give characters in your new WIP health challenges, and/or physical limitations.” Oh, for Heaven’s sake. Below, I’ve listed those that came to mind:…
Book Review: Make Every Word Count
The full title of this book is: Make Every Word Count: a guide to writing that works—for fiction and nonfiction by Gary Provost. Gary, an author, speaker, and writing coach, had a unique sense of humor that flavored his writing and speaking. While I’ve often found plowing through a grammar or writing book tedious, Gary…
Announcing the 2024 RMFW Anthology, Without Brakes—Fingers Crossed – By Paul Martz
The September 7 publication date is six months away, but news like this will not wait. First, the title. When Linda and I teamed up for the anthology, our recent experiences with Colorado wildfires made the theme a no-brainer: Colorado’s Changing Climate—a deceptively flexible theme. Some members submitted climate change stories, while others interpreted “climate”…
Set Your Sights High, Don’t Settle For Anything Less
A friend is getting ready to teach an online college-level course about “the business of creative writing.” He asked me for any strategies I would suggest along those lines and to pass along “things I’ve learned.” His prompt led me to write this note, below. Here’s what I sent him. ++ Things I’ve learned ……