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We aren’t at the point—and I don’t want to reach it—where “miracle” AI software writes our stories for us, and we passively absorb them. Sure, AI can output all sorts of text from prompts and prodding, but the human touch remains essential in story shaping. But some writing software performs brawny labors to structure book-length […]

Call them bad guys or villains or antagonists, you need them in just about every genre that exists if you want an interesting story. Even nonfiction merits an opposition. For a story to capture readers, it needs adversity. And the bad side has to be every bit as devoted to winning as the good side, […]

At some point, every writer loses an important file. If you’re lucky, it will be only one file. However, if your computer dies, gets hacked, or falls from a great height, you want to make sure you don’t lose your life’s work. The first time I had a computer die on me, the computer repair […]

I received this email from a new FundsforWriters reader. I have paraphrased it a little bit to avoid showing her history. <<First, I love your site. I can’t wait to continue exploring all of the valuable information that you have. I am a new writer not yet published. I have read so much material (books, […]

“You should write about your experiences growing up in a haunted house.” Those were my sister’s words. “You experienced the paranormal more than the rest of us.” She never believed I’d seen the ghost, yet, she saw the value in the story. While I pondered her words, I continued writing my other creative nonfiction – […]

You know the song. The one with the lyric, “Dance like nobody’s watching.” You get the meaning. Let yourself be the real you. You know how you are in the car, alone, when the perfect song you sang to in high school comes on the radio. You belt it out, maybe even attempting harmony. But […]

This may come as a surprise, but you don’t have to travel to become a travel writer. Almost everybody lives in or near a town or city that has some points of interest for others. If you’ve lived in your area for a long time, you probably know a lot about its various attractions. That […]

“When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.” – British economist Charles Goodhart (Goodhart’s law) This quote says that basically, when you set a goal, and you become hard focused in meeting that goal, you can easily forget what drove you to set the goal in the first place. The measure, […]

The Web abounds with writers who ponder how to develop that proverbial network that’s supposed to represent their 1,000 true fans…those fans who are supposed to make growth possible. Those fans who want anything we have to offer, and tell others about it. In case you are not familiar with the concept, read these articles. […]

Someone recently emailed me, upset that a book contest charged a $70 entry fee. The first prize was a strong four figures, and I knew the credibility of the sponsor. Therefore, I had no problem posting the contest. The complainer called the contest predatory and told me not to respond to their complaint. Apparently they […]

When I started freelancing, I was a pure writing whore. I’d write anything for anyone for almost any price. It’s what most writers do. Their brain says get paid to write with little thought given to branding the career. Defining your specialty, choosing your niche(s), at first blush feels like setting limitations on potential work. What if […]

Storyteller and mythologist Martin Shaw is as much a philosopher as anyone I’ve read. He’s Irish and steeped in that history of storytelling, which if you’ve read such stories, know they are quite rich in lesson. In a recent post of his in Emergence Magazine, he spoke of embracing mystery, which could be interpreted in embracing uncertainty […]