You have the passion to be a writer or a daily blogger. It’s there gnawing at you every moment of every day until you give in and start writing. If you’re not writing, you’re thinking about writing, you’re jotting down ideas, you’re thinking up great blog posts, new angles to share with your readers—this is your life; you are passionate about being a writer—you are a writer.
So what happens when the passion goes to sleep? Has the flame of desire completely gone out and killed all your enthusiasm about writing? …

I recently posted about listening to music while you write. In Words & Music I said that music can inspire your writing, “Poetic stories told with captivating music are not only inspiring but magical in many ways.” In that piece I mentioned some American songwriters; Bruce Springsteen and Ronnie James Dio. I also covered British bassist, songwriter and founder of Iron Maiden, Steve Harris—who I will also cover again in this post—he’s just that good.
Today I want to cover how you can improve your writing by following how lyricists write. …

Dancing With the Muse – An Introduction to the Six Core Competencies of Successful Storytelling
We are inundated with writing wisdom. It cascades around us like political fallout, right and left, plotter and pantser, light and dark, first person and third, commercial and literary, nuanced and smack in your face.
How to unblock. How to craft compelling characters (an alliterative gem in its own right). How to write scenes. How to write genre fiction. How to not make your English teacher turn over in her grave. …

If you don’t know, how can you write compelling characters? All our characters, in a sense, wear a mask. Some wear many masks and until we can “see” behind those masks, we don’t know who they are. Sure, you can give them a past and all the other “typical” information that goes with creating a character, but you have to step into their shoes, slip into their skin and get inside their head—almost literally.
“Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he …

There are writing prompts all over the Internet that you can choose from. I’ve used several of them myself. It recently dawned on me that I always picked prompts that sparked my interest. This is not a bad thing but it really doesn’t force you to exercise a true creative spark.
I’ve recently been picking random writing prompts; I simply close my eyes and point. Whichever prompt my finger lands on is the one I use–even if I don’t like it or think there’s no way I can get into a …

Writing strong narrative is a difficult task even for seasoned writers. They know to use strong verbs and to cut out the clutter and material that isn’t necessary, but do they follow any certain rules for doing this? I’m sure each writer has their own set of guidelines for writing good narrative and you will device your own set of rules as you become more practiced in your craft, but here are a few guidelines to help you get started.
As a writer you already know you’re a storyteller, this is …

before it’s time.
I was just reading some tips on writing about editing your work.  This struck a chord with me because in the past I was extremely guilty of this.  I’m still guilty of this at times, but for the most part I have overcome this hindrance in my writing.  Yes, editing before it’s time is a hindrance to your writing.  You aren’t writing if you’re busy editing.
The tip I was reading simply stated:  Write when it’s time to write, edit when it’s time to edit.
Of course the tip as …

So you’ve decided to become a writer.  Welcome to the hardest “easy” job on the planet.  Or you’ve written a book and you’re ready to start submitting your work of art to publishers.  Are you ready for rejection?  It’s a sad reality we all must face and in the beginning of your writing career it can be very heart breaking. But, you will get rejected.  Expect it.  According to some of the greatest and most well known authors on the planet, if you’re lucky, you’ll get hundreds of rejections.
Why would …