Polish your opening lines to make a great first impression
A recent look at our bookshelves reminded us that books that engage and captivate us from the outset are hands down...
Create a tapestry with inspirational ‘word portraits’
When jazz/fusion innovator Billy Cobham composed his 1974 masterpiece "Crosswinds," he imagined its songs "capturing...
Put your writing on a diet to slim down the bloat
Try this for an example of imprecise or bloated writing: The species in the body of water were found to be in a state...
Before writing dialogue, do the critical task of listening
We recently ran across a blog on which a reader wrote a brutally candid assessment of an author’s treatment of...
Be good to your characters, and they’ll be good to you
Best friends are those people we can rely upon no matter the circumstance. They stand with us in good times as well as...
Meeting the challenge of composing your query letter
So, your book is finished. Congratulations. You’ve accomplished something most people simply dream of. But here’s the...
Trust us: Every author needs an editor
So, your book is finished, you’ve read it and reread it, and your cousin, who works in the reference department down...
Huntington’s Writers Can Read an example for showcasing authors
If you're part of a writing community that's searching for a way to highlight its authors, there's no better model...
Unleash your verbs, and corral your passive writing
Most of us like things simple. Like basic math, for example. If we'd dived into the complex world of algebraic...
West Virginia Book Festival: A great event that ended too soon
We’ve got a complaint about the West Virginia Book Festival: It’s just too darn brief. The festival, which was...
