If you need a hall pass from someone telling you that it's okay to take time off, this is it. Here you go. Come back to class when you're feeling better.Read More

We hear this often, but what does it really mean? It certainly doesn’t mean you can’t write thing outside your realm of personal experience (though things you relate to personally will be stronger stories for you).Read More

When editors, teachers, and other experts in the literary field talk about “structure” what they’re talking about isn’t some set of rules you have to comply with; they’re talking about the underpinnings of how stories function and have functioned since the earliest days of storytelling.Read More

Continuing yesterday’s discussion of what the real differences between self-publishing and traditional publishing are, let’s step into the nitty-gritty and lay out the pros and cons (I was tempted to write “prose and cons”) so we can compare the two side by side. Now that we have looked at the steps required in putting together...Read More

There are lines in the sand, and authors everywhere are examining the decision of how to publish differently than ever before. The change in the modern landscape of the industry is a significant one, and with the rise of e-books and outlets like Amazon and Smashwords authors have unprecedented access to tools only publishers possessed...Read More

I have a good friend who teases me often about my rigid adherence to Strunk and White and what is considered correct, if stuffy, punctuation (if I said grammar he’d slap me). I considered the question over months of good-natured ribbing and came to a conclusion regarding why I am so careful about how I write....Read More

First thing I want to do is thank everyone that has followed, read, and shared my blog! You have all been great, and I hope to continue sharing in your writing journey. There are some changes coming that will be adjusting how this blog is run. First of all, as I have posted about before,...Read More

Thank you and welcome to Kimberly Klemm ( http://www.kimberlymckenzie.com )!   I have worked in the Technical Writing industry for eight plus years as both a contributing writer and a Senior editor.  The relationship between writers and editors can be likened unto a romance, a terminal illness, and a business partnership.  Writers and editors can...Read More

When I first started writing I was in high school. I wrote passionately, madly, and got lost in the worlds I created. I wrote volumes of (admittedly terrible) fiction of so many flavors I could’ve opened an ice cream shop to sell them all. And I did it without thinking too hard about it. I...Read More

This post might make a few people grumpy, and for that I almost apologize. I say almost because this really needs to be said and heard. This post is also explicitly about writers. Editors, designers, publishers, and everyone else in this muddled world of writing has an ego too, and they need to be punctured...Read More