I often share writing tips and indie publishing shortcuts in the Writers’ Forum at the end of each month, but today I’m writing an entire article devoted to my favorite products and platforms that make my life easier. These are my secret weapons! (Well – not so secret anymore!) Some of these are free and some are well-worth the money, depending on where you are in your publishing journey/adventure.

Welcome to May, writers. In Wisconsin, it’s a month of flowers, sunshine, end-of-school events, Mother’s Day, and Memorial Day. May is a wonderful kick-off month to summer.

Welcome to our new normal, writers. April is a time for showers and flowers. Except this April, which has been a time for tears and fears, unfortunately. My heart goes out to those who have suffered directly from this terrible illness. I pray for those who have lost family members, friends, and neighbors.

In the past few weeks, I’ve viewed a plethora of 2019 year-in-review and/or hit-the-ground-running newsletters/blog posts for 2020. To be honest, while I champion the work of fellow writers and appreciate all the positive messages, I skimmed over many of them.

Why?

How Limiting Screen Time, Keeping a Calendar, and Visits to the Local Hardware Store Will Keep Me on Track

This fall I’ve been extremely fortunate to achieve some quality writing time in ways that were unusually helpful: a week-long writing residency and a weekend writing retreat. Both have given me a clarity on my current work in progress and energized me to finish this story more quickly than I ever could have imagined when I started it in September.

I'm pleased Amanda Zieba is able to join us again. Amanda is an author, a word nerd, a mom, a wife, a teacher, and so much more. Today she gives us excellent exercises for creating great characters. I think designing characters and all their traits (quirky or not) is one of the most fun parts of being a fiction writer. These exercise will definitely get you started.

Happy autumn, writers!