Screenwriting
Slow Your Roll
Labor Day weekend, I finally decided to go see the action movie Top Gun: Maverick. It seemed like a…
October 4, 2022-
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Writing for YAIs Your Historical Novel YA or Adult Coming of Age
How do you know if you’ve written a young adult novel or an adult coming of age? What about…
September 27, 2022 -
Romancing Your StoryCan Your Male Character Still Be the Hero in Your Romance Novel?
The current writing trend is to have strong, independent female characters. These female characters can run a business and…
September 23, 2022 -
Mastering Middle GradeInside the Ten-Foot Line: From Conception to Publication (Part Two)
Last month, I detailed the first half of my journey to publication for my MG/YA sports novel Inside the…
September 16, 2022 -
Magazine, Freelance, and Copywriting
An Introduction to Website Copywriting
Being a freelance writer today often means seeking a range of creative opportunities. There are certainly few writers today…
September 14, 2022 -
Fantasy-Sci-FiValued
From her earliest days, my mom’s life lacked value in the sight of others. Born female and Korean in…
September 10, 2022 -
Kids LitOpening Lines for Picture Books
First lines make a promise. From “Call me Ishmael” (Moby Dick, Herman Melville, 1851) to “Happy families are all alike; every…
September 8, 2022 -
Screenwriting
SubPlots
Last month, I decided to go back and work on an updated version of my original award-winning inspirational screenplay…
September 4, 2022 -
Romancing Your Story
How Candlelight Brings Out the Romance in Your Characters
What is it about candlelight that makes a candlelight dinner so romantic? First of all, did you know that…
August 23, 2022 -
History in the MakingThe School Bus (Pt. 2) Riding Through Racial Tensions
Public school buses (part 1- almostanauthor.com) hit the road in the 1920s, traveling the soon-to-be-familiar roads of segregation. But…
August 20, 2022 -
Kids Lit
More Meantime…
Things are getting more exciting for fall – real conferences in person with live editors taking pitches. But until…
August 16, 2022 -
Fantasy-Sci-Fi
Location, Location, Location: Where Do We Find Our Peeps?
Finding your tribe can be difficult, especially for writers who’d much rather stay at home. It doesn’t take an…
August 10, 2022 -
Mastering Middle Grade
Inside the Ten-Foot Line: From Conception to Publication Part One
As I wrote this article, I got an email from my publisher letting me know that the pre-order sales…
August 8, 2022 -
Screenwriting
Plot Driven Story Telling
Recently I began working on a new screenplay project I pitched to a management team. For almost a year…
August 5, 2022 -
Writing for YA
How to Write the Opening Scene: Infusing Emotional Connection From Page One
I had a conversation recently with one of my writing friends. She wanted to talk about how to infuse…
July 27, 2022 -
Romancing Your Story
Food, Feeding, and Romance
Have you ever wondered why a guy gives the girl he’s romantically interested in a box of chocolates? Or…
July 23, 2022 -
History in the Making
Development of the Piano-Part 2
Bartolomeo Cristofori accomplished a great technical achievement when he created the piano, but the piano did not become popular…
July 20, 2022 -
Mastering Middle Grade
Show, Don’t Tell
“Show, don’t tell” should be the mantra of every writer, especially Middle Grade authors. What is ‘Telling’? Telling is…
July 16, 2022 -
Fantasy-Sci-Fi
Sense Sensibilities
A flexi-tube extended from the airlock and attached to the exterior of the arrow with a dull clang. A…
July 11, 2022 -
Kids Lit
In the Meantime…
The clock begins the minute we hit “send.” We just launched a glorious new concept, never done before in…
July 8, 2022 -
Screenwriting
Character Driven Storytelling
Powerful stories make a strong impression on our audience. These stories bring change in our audience through the changes…
July 4, 2022 -
Writing for YA
Why Writers Should Keep a Travel Journal
Travel diaries can enrich your writing. New experiences can be a treasure trove of ideas. When something unique happens,…
June 30, 2022 -
Writing Romance
What About Commitment?
Let’s face it. The majority of romance readers, including me, prefer a happy ending. But does that mean the…
June 23, 2022 -
History in the Making
Development of the Piano (Part1)
As a writer it is important to get your details right, even in fiction. I am working on final…
June 20, 2022 -
Mastering Middle Grade
What Rejection Really Is
Behind every book on the shelf, and every story waiting to be published, there’s an author who has experienced…
June 16, 2022
