Going Pro—Earning Rhino Skin & Learning Which Opinions Matter

My favorite quote is, “Tigers do not lose sleep over the opinion of sheep.” People have opinions. A lot feel the need to share them. Go team! But we don’t have to listen and take these opinions to heart. We can consider the source.

Hooking the Reader & Sticking the Sale—Formatting Matters

In writing, anything that interrupts the fictive dream is BAD JUJU. If our formatting is a train wreck, odds are the reader won’t finish, let alone recommend.

Does Fiction Matter? Fiction, Fantasy & Social Change

Societies have always been defined and redefined by its stories. Fiction IS NOT INERT. Why do you think dictators shoot the writers and burn the books first?

Is Romance Devolving?—50 Shades vs. No One Puts Baby in a Corner

Women have faced thousands of years of not being able to defend themselves against victimization and rape and now we have a cultural phenomenon that is redefining sex and blurring the lines of consent (which are already pretty damn blurry, especially after a drunken frat party).

Three NEVERS of Social Media for Writers

These three professional blunders can hang on like the smell of dead fish and stink up our author career, so avoid them at all cost. I understand that many of you who follow this blog are new, so if you’ve made one of these mistakes, you’re learning. We all oops (especially in the beginning), so don’t …

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