As a writer (and as a person, if I’m honest) it’s easy for me to fixate on what changes I would like to make. Contracts I wish I had, books I wish I’d written, writing time that I wish was longer, a social media following that I wish was bigger, and so on. One of my favorite things about this time of year in the U.S. is the focus on thankfulness and gratitude. It’s good for my soul to meditate on the blessings I have instead of those that I wish I had. This is a list of what I’m thankful for in my writing life. If you want to share your own list in the comments section, please do so! Regular w ..read more

Gillian Bronte Adams writes YA epic fantasy novels, including the award-winning Of Fire and Ash and The Songkeeper Chronicles. She loves strong coffee, desert hikes, and trying out new soup recipes on crisp fall nights. Her favorite books are the ones that make your heart ache and soar in turn. When she’s not creating vibrant new worlds or dreaming up stories that ring with the echoes of eternity, she can be found off chasing sunsets with her horse, or her dog, Took. Gillian loves to connect with readers online through her website and Instagram. Ha ..read more

Editors and agents are busy people. If you have been invited to submit chapters or a full manuscript to them, take extra time to ensure that you are sending out your best work. To help you make the best first impression, I’ve created a Submission Checklist. Use this list of reminders to double-check everything before you click send. Read on to see what is on my list. Also, at the end of the post, download a PDF of the checklist to keep handy. The Hard Questions Is your submission a good fit? Why are you submitting to this person? If they asked you to, no need to worry. But if you are cold ..read more

Obsessively rewriting the first chapter or two of my book was one of the first hurdles I had to get over as a new writer. Story beginnings felt easy and fun to me. I would write my first few chapters, or my first few scenes, and excitedly pass them out to my friends. They would offer some feedback, and while incorporating their suggestions, I often found myself completely rewriting the scenes. Then, instead of carrying on with drafting the rest of the story, I would reconsider my first chapter or two, decide to change the tense or the POV character, and rewrite again. I told myself that once I ..read more

Gillian Bronte Adams writes YA epic fantasy novels, including the award-winning Of Fire and Ash and The Songkeeper Chronicles. She loves strong coffee, desert hikes, and trying out new soup recipes on crisp fall nights. Her favorite books are the ones that make your heart ache and soar in turn. When she’s not creating vibrant new worlds or dreaming up stories that ring with the echoes of eternity, she can be found off chasing sunsets with her horse, or her dog, Took. Gillian loves to connect with readers online through her website and Instagram. Ha ..read more

Callie Thomas is an indie author who loves all things fairy tales—including twisting tales of her own. Her favorite stories have a mix of sweet romance, laughter, and a pinch of magic. When she’s not writing, she enjoys playing board games, reading at the beach, and traveling the world with her husband and two boys. Since she can’t live at Disney World, you’ll find her near the historical battlefields and lush woodlands where her family lives in Fredericksburg, VA. She recently published her first Vella series, A Forest of Stolen Memories & A Sea of Golden Chains, and has more stories on ..read more

For the past few months, I’ve been taking you through my process of developing my upcoming Blood of Kings Legends short novel using The Story Equation by Susan May Warren. This story is about Guy and Girl. (I cannot yet share their names because my contracts says I must wait.) I started with creating the main characters and finding their Story Equation in this post. Then I talked about how to use the Enneagram personality types to help you create new characters quickly. Today I’m going to be talking about plot. These three posts are a great way to get yourself ready to try National Novel Writi ..read more

Isn’t it great when you feel excited to write? Yes, I have developed a writing routine that I faithfully stick to, and I believe in sitting down to write even when I don’t feel like it. I think the path to success as a writer is best built with good writing habits, but I also feel that the power of excitement for your writing time, for your story itself, shouldn’t be underestimated. As Sage Cohen says, “There is no energy source like delight to keep the writing coming.” I recently had a front row seat to how enthusiasm can create astounding results. My best friend, author Roseanna M. White, h ..read more

Gillian Bronte Adams writes YA epic fantasy novels, including the award-winning Of Fire and Ash and The Songkeeper Chronicles. She loves strong coffee, desert hikes, and trying out new soup recipes on crisp fall nights. Her favorite books are the ones that make your heart ache and soar in turn. When she’s not creating vibrant new worlds or dreaming up stories that ring with the echoes of eternity, she can be found off chasing sunsets with her horse, or her dog, Took. Gillian loves to connect with readers online through her website and Instagram. Ha ..read more

We are super proud to announce the names of our 56 finishers of the 100-for-100 writing challenge! These writers wrote a combined 1,644,467 words, with an average of 29,365.48 words per person. So impressive! Abby Ciona Abigail Kay Harris Ainsley Justus Aly Amiko Genisis Andrea Renee Cox Ann Gorczyca Anna E. Frank Anna Grace Anna Willcuts Audrey Snyder Bethany Kim Braden Lee Bree Pembrook Caelin Simone Caroline D Cassie Porath Cate V. Chelsea Burden Diamond Stone Eleanor Ann Elizabeth Farquhar Emma C. Evelyn S. Genesis W Grace Smith Hope Gossamer Jacob M. Jade Jones Jaime G. Jonathan Babcock K ..read more