Ever wondered what goes through the mind of a fallen angel? Now’s your chance to find out. Take a peek at Azrael’s Journal, a fun look into the world of Acceptance available only on ajflowers.org. http://ajflowers.org/azrael-s-journal Preview: You arrive home and happen upon a strange leathered book sitting at the edge of your bed. It’s covered … More Azrael’s Journal – Entry 1

In honor of Labor Day I decided to do some research into traditional versus self-publishing. The question is constantly coming up as I enjoy the guest authors that I have interviewed for this site. So far, self-publishing is by far the most popular. At first, I imagined it was because of how difficult it is … More Self-Publishing, is it the New Norm?

A large issue I’ve been struggling with for quite some time had no name. Now, I know that it was the concept called “filtering.” I’ve had an unholy amount of critiques/beta reads come back on my work complaining how the reader felt “distanced” from the main character. “I want to know what she’s thinking! I want … More Oh No! A Common Pitfall that can distance your Readers from your Characters

I would like to cover some ground rules for fantasy world-building. This is a deeper look into one of the items from an earlier post: 5 Common Mistakes for Aspiring Authors. Fantasy worlds are the reason readers flock to the genre: We live in the real world, why would we want to read about it? Now, don’t … More 5 Pillars of World-Building

How far is your story? Is it still bubbling in your imagination, waiting to spring out? Are you on your first draft? Third? One hundredth? No matter what stage, it is time to look at the character development in your story. I want to point out that character development doesn’t start out on the first page, it starts … More The Dos and Don’ts of Character Development

One of the most important skills a writer needs to have mastered is the proper usage of dialogue. Dialogue provides many things to the reader: Information and Backstory, Character Personality, Plot Flow, Interaction and Dynamic Action. You may say, well some stories don’t have much dialogue. Wrong, what about internal dialogue? Even if characters are not … More 5 Mistakes Writers Make When Writing Dialogue

  Have you ever been in a movie theatre and saw someone reading? Well I have! I remember I was at the movie theatre with some friends. It was a kid’s movie, I don’t recall which. But what I do remember is looking over and seeing this 8 to 10-year-old boy curled up in his … More 3 Favorite Places to Read

Before I was a writer, I was a reader. I didn’t have the know-how to put into words how Point of View (PoV) affected me, but I realize now how much of an impact it really had on my reading experience. For example, I read Alan Campbell’s: Scar Night cover-to-cover in a matter of a week. I … More Writing PoV – The Impact to the Reader

It’s expected that non-fiction will be the result of extensive real-world research. But what about fiction? While not required, conducting research will greatly enhance any novel. You may not expect research for a F&SF(Fantasy & Sci-Fi) novel, but there are many which have done this very thing. Why? Because while a writer’s world will be … More F&SF Writers . . . Do you Research