Home to Serious Fiction Writers

Plot Loosely, Plot Loosely

Three Benefits of Plotting Loosely When you do, you’ll accomplish three things that will make writing something sustainable—something you’ll be able to do with joy for the rest of your life—instead of turning it into miserable drudge work that leaves you longing to do ANYTHING else. What are these three things? You’ll keep your main […]

Don’t BREED Characters!

(photo credit: André Mouraux — see * and ** below) Don’t breed characters? Really? But (you may be thinking) my story NEEDS characters! It does. Does it need 100 of them, though, all named, most with tiny roles in only one scene, all who must be tracked through your eventual edits with the fine-toothed comb […]

Resolutions Don’t Work

How to Set Goals and Follow Through I know a lot of people who set New Year’s resolutions. You might have set some yourself just a few short weeks ago. Everyone wants to lose weight and get in shape. They want to improve their financial situation or tackle a neglected project. Or, like many of […]

Write Only the Good Stuff

That seems pretty obvious, doesn’t it? Clearly you don’t want to write bad stuff. But I cannot tell you how many times I’ve read a post or a blog or heard a writer say, “I can hardly wait to get through this chapter so I can write the one I’m excited about.” Have you ever […]

More Than Moans and Clanks

Improving Un-fleshed Undead in Fiction “I swear, Culbertson, there was something there.” “But what was it, old man? There is no trace of foot or paw in the dust, no sign of passage in the cobwebs for any exit other than the one we stand in. Do you expect us to […]

Writing “The Bones That Walk”

“There, Miss Jones, there they are — the bones that walk!” “I doubt you very much, Smythe. Why, I see nothing more than bare white bone. Where are the tendons, ligaments, or any other connective tissue? Where, I say! Why, there’s not so much as a shimmer of ectoplasm connecting THOSE bones. They float, perhaps […]

What’s Coming For HWC Members 2018

The last few years have been focused on site development. On getting: Classrooms working Classes back in place The forum functioning Access to classes fixed The old shop replaced with a new shop The broken affiliate program replaced with a top-notch program Last year, I also worked on existing classes, doing an overhaul and update […]

New Year’s Greeting

Pay no attention to the editor hiding behind the curtain. (The one who doesn’t read her own memos.) Holly’s inaugural post for 2018 goes live next Tuesday, 9 January. We’re still on hiatus this week! 0

HWC Blog Hiatus December 21 Through January 8

The HWC Blog is taking a break over the holidays. We’ll kick off the new year with Holly’s inaugural post for 2018 on Tuesday, January 9th. Don’t miss it. 2

Writing For Kids

What makes a kids’ story great? How do you write for kids? What basic rules apply to kids’ fiction: novels, short stories, interactive fiction and graphic novels? Fiction gives children a chance to explore the world—to have adventures without danger, learn lessons without getting hurt, discover fantasy worlds, and explore values so they can develop […]