We develop strong rooting interest and care more about characters who care deeply about something, who are committed to something.  Perhaps they care about their families, or have a powerful love for their country.  Maybe your character loves his horse, or is uncommonly honest or honorable.

In short, a story isn't just one idea, it's a conglomeration—basic concepts about characters, how and why they act, and how others react to them.  If you analyze even a short story, one that is only ten pages long, you'll find that the author makes dozens, maybe even hundreds of choices regarding milieu, character, conflict, theme, and treatment.

In our Apex writing group, Apex is an umbrella organization that provides services for a large number of writers, but we also encourage writers to do things in smaller groups. For example, some writers are having great success by meeting together for daily writing sprints, or weekly brainstorming sessions or critique groups.  Remember, a writing group is a living, growing thing. It may change over time, and your rules need to evolve with it.

Before you start writing a novel, screenplay, or any tale at all, you should look at two things:  Do you like the basic concept? Will the story sell? In short, before you write anything, you need to take an adequate survey of the field.  

Before you start writing a novel, screenplay, or any tale at all, you should decide a number of things: 

1) Do you like the basic concept?  If you aren’t excited about a novel, chances are excellent that you’ll lack the energy to finish it.  Your subconscious will rebel at the idea, and you’ll

If you are a successful writer, the chances are excellent that all kinds of people will approach you to write for them.

One perennial need is for novelists to write film or gaming tie-ins.

Imagine for a moment that you’re a producer and you’ve created a major motion picture, a television series, or a videogame. You want to advertise it, but you

Writing clear dialog isn’t hard to do, but many new writers—and some old ones—make simple mistakes. Here are a few things to watch out for.

1. Never hide the identity of a speaker. Many new writers will start a story like this:

“Don’t leave me. I couldn’t bear it.”

Now, it might be a perfectly good hook for a story, but I’ve read

We often begin a story with very little in mind—a powerful image from a dream, a play on words overheard during a conversation, an emotion that we want to capture, a clever idea for a twist. As these ideas coalesce, we begin to form a story.

I often feel that the ideas that give me the genesis of a story are

Today's writing tip is offered by Jan Nerenberg.

Recently I edited a manuscript and noted the overuse of the “f” word. The writer questioned why the use of the "f" bomb was offensive, after all he stated, it's common usage. Personal preference aside (I personally don't like it) but as an editor, mentor, and fellow-writer I considered his statement/feelings/reasoning and decided

First off, let me explain that any one person might fulfill several roles. In other words, you might be able to fill three or four roles. Just as you can be a loving father, a tough soldier, and a devoted son to your mother, you can fill any of these roles listed below. In fact, to some degree you have to fill all of them. Yet if you are in a group with others who help support you, you may be stronger together than you are apart.