writing tips

Give Your Story an Emotional Core

A while back, I had a talk with my agent about my career and what I could do to revive it. After writing for 22 years, I have produced A LOT of stories (at least 100 and counting), and consequently, she has submitted a great number

How (and Why) to Eliminate Passive Writing

According to Strunk and White’s classic The Elements of Style, “The habitual use of the active voice…makes for forcible writing.” In its most basic sense, the active voice involves the subject of the sentence being the doer of the action, whereas in the passive voice the subject is being acted

6 Ways to Simplify Your Writing

A former workshop student of mine recently thanked me for reminding her that query letters are best when they’re short and to the point. A published writer, she said she’d gotten away from the KISS method of querying (Keep It Simple, Stupid).

The more I thought about her acronym, the

Prologues, Epilogues, and Other Useful Bookends

What if the reader needs more information than what you can squeeze into the body of your book? You have several elements at your disposal that can lead the reader into your work and ease them through the ending. But to use them, you have to understand each element’s distinct

VIDEO – How to Write Compelling Dialogue, Part 1

If you’re struggling with writing dialogue, this video is for you. Our writing coach Teresa gives her best tips for creating conversations between characters that sound authentic and keep your story moving.

To learn more about Teresa or her coaching services or download a transcript of this video,

VIDEO – How to Give Your Children’s Book a Great Title

Children’s author and writing coach Teresa Funke is back with another powerful video. This time, she talks about the process of creating a memorable title for your fiction children’s book.

Teresa, our Expert Guide At-Large, is the owner of Teresa Funke & Company and Victory House Press, which offer products, programs,