Writing an Un-Put-Downable Character (Part 9 of 10): Observables

by A.C. Williams @ACW_Author

How important is it to know that your character is tall? Or that he has red hair? Or that she has green eyes? I am more of the opinion that your character’s other aspects are superior details to focus on, especially at the beginning of a story. Of course there are always exceptions, but generally that’s the case. 

However, knowing what your character looks like DOES matter. We need to have some sense of their features and physical presence. Though it may not be the most important detail to communicate, it’s still important for setting the stage and presenting a complete portrait of your character. 

This month we’re talking about the OBSERVABLES, which is a big lumped-together category that contains all the outside details about your character. 

Great Freebie Ideas to Add Value to Your Author Newsletter

by Lynn H. Blackburn @LynnHBlackburn

If you’re an author, aspiring or published, you know you need a professional website, a vibrant social media platform, and a newsletter.

You probably have a decent handle on the website and social media aspects. But your newsletter can be a daunting proposition, especially when you’re pre-published or very young in your writing career. 

How are you supposed to get strangers to sign up to receive an email from you? 

Connect with Readers by Avoiding These 9 Common Blogging Mistakes

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson

Blogging is a great way to connect with our online audience. And while there are a lot more people out there doing it well, I still see some common mistakes. These things affect a blog, making readers click away before they finish a post and even unsubscribe altogether. 

Today I’m going to share the top blogging mistakes I see from authors.

Learn to Write Sensational Settings and Immerse Your Readers in the Stories You Create

by PeggySue Wells @PeggySueWells

Stories happen in a place and that place is the setting. 

Advice from Industry Experts on Street Teams

by Kristen Hogrefe Parnell @KHogrefeParnell

Authors depend on street teams or launch teams to help spread the word about their books, but if you’ve been on some of these teams before, you already know how different they can be in structure and expectations. 

As I’ve discovered, there is no one right or wrong way to run a street team. However, at this year’s Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writer’s Conference, I asked several best-selling authors if they would share their advice on street teams, and I’ve compiled some of their tips here today.

Lessons the Headless Horseman Can Teach Us about Faith

 by Edie Melson @EdieMelson

The heart is more deceitful than anything else, 
and incurable—who can understand it? Jeremiah 17:9

Now that fall is fully upon us, everywhere we look evidence of the season jumps out at us. The trees have donned their colorful best and pumpkins are sprouting grins on every front porch. Halloween candy is littering the aisles at grocery store and kiddos are planning costumes. Along with this, some classics have also come back to haunt us—from It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown to The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Four Seasons of a Writer

by Tim Suddeth @TimSuddeth

Ah, fall is here. I love fall. The cooler temperatures. The change from a monochromatic green to a Crayola-box color scheme of leaves. And the harvest festivals. I love it all.

But I must admit, if you ask me which is my favorite season, I couldn’t pick just one. I love them all. Especially in the sequence in which they come.

You need the heat of the summer to prepare yourself or the fall. And then the fall, the ever-shortening days and cooler temperatures, sort of scoots you into winter. And after the freezing weather, the brief daylight hours, and the dead-looking trees, spring pops up as a joyous treat. How can so many leaves appear on a tree overnight? Then spring matures into summer. The circle of life.

When I thought about using the four seasons as an example for writing, I had to pause. Because, for all of us writers, writing doesn’t progress from one to the other in the same order.