Just Do the Next Thing

I’ve been trying to write this blog post all morning, but four baby squirrels are playing tag outside my window. I had to watch them. Then I had to research squirrel family interactions. Afterwards, I had to plot out a few points for the children’s book I...

Wednesday Writer: Flash Fiction

Welcome to the Wednesday Writer. Let’s talk flash! Definitions of flash fiction vary, but basically, this is a short story of less than 1000 words. Sometimes as short as 100 words. It is a complete story with a beginning, middle, and end. Flash follows the same...

Wednesday Writer: Moving into Magazines

  Welcome to this edition of Wednesday Writer. If you have been following this series, you know we’ve talked about starting small as a writer and learning the craft through books, magazines, courses, conferences, critique groups, and mentors. Today,...

How 300 Words a Day Becomes a Book

  Hello from the Wednesday Writer. Three hundred words. That is the challenge I set when I decided to actually write one of the stories in my head. If I wrote five days a week, I could have a rough draft done in less than a year. Every morning, I sat at my desk...

How to Start Small as a Writer and Dream Big

  In this edition of the Wednesday Writer, we will look at some places you can actually start publishing your work. Before you tackle a 75,000 word novel, exercise your skills and improve your craft with some of these ideas. Some writers say you should never give...