I almost stopped reading the book that eventually opened my eyes to the power of inspirational fiction and set me on a path to author and agent. Almost set the book aside after a few pages.
Why? Because the dialect …
What Washed Ashore in the Storm
I’m married to a man who once despised brainstorming. He calls himself a non-writer. I disagree, but that’s a story for another time. Somehow, he’d become convinced that brainstorm was a word on a par with earthquake or tsunami or …
While You Wait
Blogger: Cynthia Ruchti
What’s waiting got to do with writing? Sure, the two words share many of the same letters, but writing is an action verb and waiting isn’t. Right?
Writing and waiting have a lot in common. Few beginning …
Testing the Website Waters
blogger: Cynthia Ruchti
Have you been regularly testing the website waters to make sure your author website is doing its job well?
We’re not talking Google Analytics or SEO or meta-data and keywords for this round of testing. Instead, we’re …
The Tragedy of Comedy
Cynthia Ruchti
You deliver the punch line of your best joke ever. Someone in your circle of friends says, “I don’t get it.”
And thus is the tragedy of comedy. It doesn’t always work. Because the joke was poorly delivered? …
Hearing from Audiobooks
Popularity of audiobooks is unquestionably on the rise. Our love for being read to might have begun in childhood, but it’s seen a resurgence in recent years. More traditional publishers are coordinating release of an audio version on or near …
Almost Persuaded
“I was almost persuaded.”
Sad words, aren’t they? Especially if you’re the author who wrote the words that almost persuaded.
What keeps a reader from being persuaded by our writing–by the premise we propose, or the answers we provide, or …
When Words Won’t Come
Has the world ever seen a writer who never wrestled with the question:
What do I do when the words won’t come?
Others have written about the horrors of writer’s block. If you have time, presumably because the words are …
The Writer’s Understudy
What’s the writer’s equivalent of a theater understudy? It’s the project waiting in the wings in case the lead project is unable to perform or is temporarily sidelined.
Understudy Wonder
One of my clients had a former life on Broadway. …
We Hold These Truths
We hold these truths…but they’re not always as self-evident as you’d think.
Professional writing holds a number of truths that sometimes receive a mere nod rather than being adopted as habit, developed as practice, and sustained until the Chicago Manual …