How do I become an editor? (Part 1)

As the assistant professor in the Professional Writing program for the past 15 years, I’ve had several students take my Editing class and end up saying that it was that class that helped them discover what they wanted to do for a living. They’d been casting around, trying to be writers, and realizing that their love for words did not necessarily translate into becoming the next great American novelist. But give them a fresh manuscript to respond to, to make suggested changes on? They were off and running. They discovered that their love for words—both as readers and as writers—helped them be able to consider a manuscript, see the places where it fell short, and make suggestions. They wanted to become editors.

Why Romantasy has a Place in Fantasy

If you are a fantasy lover, you surely have encountered the explosive new subgenre coined romantasy. Barnes & Nobles has even added an aisle dedicated to romantasy titles that have gone viral. As with the insurgence of any new book trend, there is always mixed opinion surrounding what to do with the new genre. Criticism is good, healthy even; however, the criticism I see of romantasy stems from a larger problem, a low view of romance in fantasy as a valid literary concept.

Continue reading

Creating loveable characters isn’t as hard as you think

Great worldbuilding and an exciting plot can only take you so far—if your characters fall flat, readers won’t stick around. That might sound intimidating—creating characters is super important—but not impossible. As you read in this article, I hope you will see that creating characters your readers will love is not as daunting as you think. Allow me to walk you through the process of creating characters your readers will never forget.

1 2 3 26