Are they real? Are your characters real people? According to Carol Berg at the RMFW writers meeting on the Western Slope the answer has to be yes. Readers know it is a story, but the characters need to be alive. The goal should be that they are not characters, but people. How do we do…
Category: Blog
Guest Post: Stephen A. Benjamin – Ideas: Where Do They Come From?
By Stephen A. Benjamin How many times have writers been asked, “Where do you get your ideas?” If we all had the proverbial nickel for each . . . Every time I give some nebulous and unsatisfying answer to the cocktail party query, I wonder if I should have something more cogent in my reply, and…
Coming to a Genre Crossroads
I’ve always been big on mixing genres, long before it became a thing. I’ve blogged about it before. I love the various juxtapositions you can get by tossing a genre salad into an innovatively unique story. As an omnivorous reader, I can’t help but enjoy adding a little of this and a little of that…
Adventures in Genre Writing: Lesson Nine-How Much Sex? How Much Romance?
By Jeanne C. Stein Sex in writing is always a touchy subject—pun intended. Where does love making end and erotica begin? How much sex is too much? Do you have to have sex in your story? Let’s start with the last question first. To be frank, most readers of genres such as UF or (of…
Coming to Terms with Book Reviews
By Jeffe Kennedy This is the cover for the Italian translation of my erotic romance, Going Under. I love it so hard. A girl never forgets her first translation. 🙂 A little known fact about me (I think) is that I spent many years studying martial arts – primarily Chinese internal styles. I still practice…