Ignore the Rules, Just Write the Story!

By |2021-01-06T16:21:58+00:00January 6th, 2021|Creativity, Fiction, Ideas, imagination, learning, short stories, Writing|

Sometimes, writing a story seems more like being a tree in an ice storm. Sometimes I have this story idea in my mind with all of it's branches of characters and actions, but when I sit down to write it, I can't [...]

I Am Not A Prude: About Writing the Arnie Dufner Series

By |2020-09-07T16:26:44+00:00July 30th, 2020|Arnie Dufner, Fiction, Ideas, imagination, Writing, Young Readers|

I am not a prude. I just wanted to say that up-front so you don't misunderstand what I'm going to say in this post. And there is something else... I don't like to be critical of other writers. Other writers are welcome to write what they want to write. It may not be [...]

Making Your Characters Sick! – From May 2019

By |2020-09-07T16:42:10+00:00February 15th, 2020|Emily Graham, Fiction, Ideas, imagination, learning, short stories, Writing|

This is going to be a short post today, and one for the writers who may come across it. It will be short because, well, wait a minute, I have to blow my nose…Okay, I’m back. That’s why. I woke up in the middle of the night last night with a scratchy throat threatening to [...]

Creating Really Nasty Villains!

By |2020-09-07T16:31:43+00:00January 5th, 2020|Fiction, Ideas, imagination, learning, short stories, Writing|

I had a really fun conversation with another author this week. As we talked about my past and the years I spent as a pastor and counselor, he asked how I am able to create my nasty villains since I spent all that time in such a “nice” role. He is the first person to [...]

The Day They Blew-Up Decatur!

By |2020-09-07T16:37:06+00:00January 4th, 2020|Fiction, Ideas, imagination, short stories, Writing|

Sometimes, the ideas just hit you right in the face. And then, they just stand there and keep punching. I walked out our front door a few days ago and there it was. It looked like someone had just dropped “the big one” somewhere East of our house, and my guess it was Decatur, Illinois. [...]

That’s Not Really True, Is It?

By |2020-09-07T16:38:39+00:00January 3rd, 2020|Emily Graham, Fiction, Ideas, Writing|

"I enjoyed the story, but that isn't really true is it?" I hear that question from readers of all three of my novels. But of the three books, it has been asked the most about the second one, Distraction. A few ask about the hacking pieces. I assure them that as I did my research [...]

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