Where's the Beef? The Reporter Shows the Writer the Meat of the Story

by Brandy Dolce 

After college, I accepted a news reporter position at a large New Jersey newspaper. It took a while, but I learned to be less flowery when reporting on a robbery and tax evasion. As a news reporter, I’d get my story from cops, townspeople, politicians, educators and victims. I wrote in perfect sequence, describing the event and than dotting the rest of the story with “voices” or quotes from the people involved. A reporter must remain unbiased. I admit it was very difficult for me to do so. I am human after all.  I’d get so…emotional.

***

Hey, Fiction Writer. You’re staring at this white screen like it’s a barren wasteland.  Yeah, I know it’s intimidating. But does this lonely glacier have the potential for life? Hell, yes!

The Three Cosmic Rules of Writing

by Dennis Palumbo

As a veteran writer and a licensed psychotherapist specializing in writers' issues, I know enough to know there aren't any rules when it comes to writing.

Except for the following, which I modestly call the Three Cosmic Rules of Writing. I'm serious. Learn these simple rules, then burn them into your hearts and minds. It couldn't hurt. 

When the Plot Refuses to Thicken

It's time to play the 'Maybe' game
by Brandy Dolce

Many of us have come to that place in our writing where the story is supposed to get more interesting, but instead throws itself off a cliff to certain death.
THUD!

So how do we thicken the plot?