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    18Dec, 2021
    Growth Mindset: What are Your Writing Insecurities?

    Would you be surprised to learn that all writers suffer from doubts and fears and insecurities?

    It’s true.

    I’ve written and have had published more than twenty-five novels. Each time I start a new book, I find myself wondering if I can pull it off. 

    When I’m halfway through, I wonder if I’ll be able to finish.

    And as I get close to the end, the doubts creep, my negative self-talk making me question whether or not it’s good enough.

    At some point, I realized that I was letting my negative self-talk have too much power. As a teacher, the concept of growth mindset is very present, and very powerful.

    A growth mindset means you push forward through obstacles, and failure is not an option. Instead, it is a springboard to a new way of thinking or a new path. Obstacles aren’t roadblocks that make you stop; they are opportunities to grow and develop.

    A writer’s journey is often paved with landmines. They come in the form of self-criticism, rejection, doubt, naysayers, and fear.

    Instead of giving in to insecurities and looking at obstacles as roadblocks that stop your forward momentum, think of them as opportunities to figure out a new way around. 

    Today, I have an exercise for you. I want you to think of a few obstacles or insecurities you face in your writing life, and then come up with ways to navigate through them, over them, or around them.

    I’ll start with a few examples of obstacles and insecurities I’ve faced on my writing journey, and how I’ve changed them into growth mindset opportunities.

     

    Obstacle/Insecurity #1: The What Ifs… What if I’m not good enough? What if I don’t finish? What if I can’t do it?

    Growth Mindset: Instead of getting mired down with the What Ifs, I realize that I can’t possibly answer those questions unless I actually try. 

    What if I’m not good enough? Well, what if I am?

    What if I don’t finish? I certainly can’t finish if I never start.

    What if I can’t do it? Anybody can do anything. It may take determination, but I have plenty of that.

     

    Obstacle/Insecurity  #2: I don’t have time to write!

    Growth Mindset: Time may be limited, but Rome wasn’t built in a day. Cliché, yes, but also true. Ten minutes a day, five days a week, equals fifty minutes. Fifteen minutes a day, five days a week, equals seventy-five minutes. 

    You’ll be surprised at just how much writing you can get done by logging just a few minutes a day.

     

    Obstacle/Insecurity #3: My writing isn’t good enough.

    Growth Mindset: Whose writing am I comparing mine to? What am I basing my self-criticism on? Instead of focusing on the things that may be lacking in my writing, I focus instead on my writing strengths. I choose to focus on the positive rather than the negative.

     

    Your turn! What are some of your self-imposed obstacles or insecurities? How can you turn them into growth mindset opportunities?

    15Dec, 2021
    Writing Prompt #1: A Place You’ve Lived-Your Kitchen

    Everybody lives somewhere. When we look back on our childhood home, it’s common to feel uninspired by it. After all, it was jut the place we lived. Nothing exciting there, right?

    If I asked you to describe the kitchen in your childhood house, how detailed can you be? Close your eyes and try to visualize it. Use the five senses, What color are the walls? What smells do you remember? What do the counters look like? Are they tile with grout lines? Hard wood? Formica? Is there a favorite meal that was prepared there? What sound does the dishwasher make? How about the singing tea kettle on the stove?

    Prompt:

    Now describe this kitchen using as much detail as possible. Summon up memories that have been tucked away in the recesses of your mind. Once you begin writing, you’ll be surprised at what resurfaces!

    If this doesn’t inspire you, describe the kitchen in the photo, or your dream kitchen!

    4Dec, 2021
    Top 10 List of Writing Tips

    Writing may be your passion. It is certainly mine. It can, however, take you on a roller coaster of emotions. It can bring up emotions we aren’t necessarily prepared to deal with. It can be mentally exhausting. By the end of a really great writing day, my brain is, simply put, tired.

    Add to that moments of doubt. Those doubts may manifest through questioning our ability, maybe our talent, and sometimes even wondering whether or not we should be devoting this much time to something so unsure…something that may not make us any money in the end.

    We tend to work alone, which can be isolating. So much of the time, we live in our heads, creating characters and conflict and entire worlds there, all to the exclusion of living in the real world.

    Regular people don’t really understand what that’s like. Only fellow writers tend to really ‘get’ what other writers go through.

    Below is my Top Ten List for writers.

    1. First and foremost, call yourself a writer!

    But wait! “Can you I do that?” you might ask. The answer is a resounding, “Yes!”

    Being a writer is not the same thing as being published. Plain and simple, it means you write. So go ahead and proclaim it—if not to the world—at least to yourself. Say it: “I am a writer.”

    2. Be a reader of great books.

    Reading [great books] is one of the most important things you can do to grow your craft. Pay attention to how writers you love and respect put words together, how they craft sentences…paragraphs…scenes…chapters. Examine how they go about creating characters with depth. Be a forensic reader, then take the knowledge you gain and apply it to your own writing.

    3. Embrace the fact that you are on an ever-present path of growth. Any writer will tell you that they are always honing their craft. No matter how good you are, there is always room to refine what you do and how you do it. This can come from reading (see #2), from new vocabulary, which can help bring greater meaning to your words, and certainly from practice.

    There may be people who are born with innate writing talent in the same way there are people who are born athletes or born thespians. But there are far more people who work to learn and improve through practice and research and simply DOING.

    4. Refill the well. You can’t live on water alone. Similarly, you can’t live completely in your head and at your computer. You may feel that you don’t have time to devote to anything other than your day job, family, and your writing life. I’ve been there, believe me. There was a period of time when every single available minute was devoted to my writing. The result was that I got burnt out, and pretty quickly.

    Take it from me, you need other things in your life. I’m here to encourage you to step away from your writing once in a while. Do other things. Pursue other interests and hobbies. At the very least, give your brain a chance to turn off and yourself a chance to recharge by going for a walk, reading, watching a movie, cooking a healthy dinner, do some art (I do art journaling!), or whatever else will refill your well.

    5. Conversely, maybe you need to carve out time to write. Just because it’s a passion doesn’t mean you have given yourself permission to go there on a regular basis.

    You need to nurture your passion, without guilt…without giving in to doubt…without setting up barriers.

    6. Find like-minded people. This is such an important component for your mental health. Humans are social…even introverts. The absolute amazement I felt when I attended my first writing meeting (I joined Romance Writers of America even though I didn’t write romance. As an organization, they offer so many resources). I met people who loved writing as much as I did. They understood me!

    Now I belong to both Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America. Find an organization so you can find your people.

    7. If you’re new to writing, find a critique group (another benefit of joining a writing organization). I found my group pretty quickly after I first joined RWA. We met monthly for years, and I’m still close with several of them. They will always be my people. We learned how to be writers together. We  supported each other. We grew up together.

    When you read the acknowledgments in so many books, the author thanks their critique partners. That alone shows you just how important a supportive group like that can be in your writing life.

    8. Don’t listen to what others think or say. I’m not talking about your critique group here. I’m talking about the naysayers. Those people who point out all the reasons why you shouldn’t be a writer. 

    Don’t listen to people who blithely say it’s nothing more than a hobby.

    I was a teacher. A mom of five. A wife. A daughter.

    I also wanted to write.

    I DID write.

    I didn’t listen to anyone who said anything that might take the wind from my sails.

    You simply cannot care what other people think of your dream.


    9. That leads straight into the next tip, which is to simply focus on bringing your stories to life. There are people out there who are just waiting for what you write. All you have to do is produce it and get it out there for them.

     10. Write the story of your heart. It’s easy to fall into the destructive thought-process of writing what is ‘hot’ right now, rather than what you want to write.

    Fight the urge. If something is hot right now, by the time you finish writing your story, the trend may very well be over.

    So…forget about writing to the market. Write the book of your heart.

    Let me tell you a story. I wrote my first book and LOVED it. I submitted to agents and ultimately, I got two offers of representation. One was from an agent in her own boutique agency who absolutely loved my book and character. The other was from a big time agent in a huge organization.

    I listened to some of the people around me at the time, most of whom advised that I go with the smaller fish in the big pond rather than the big fish in the small pond. People thought I’d be crazy to turn down the offer from Trident Media Group.

    I went with the agent there, and she immediately launched into all the reasons why she wanted me to up the romance in my caper mystery series, and downplay the mystery.

    Against my better judgement, I did it. Long story short, more than a year later, she pulled the plug on the project, saying that she didn’t really rep mysteries and it still wasn’t romance-y enough.

    I ended up going with her assistant, who was leaving Trident to go out on her own. We took it back to the original version, which she loved, and she sold it within three months. She is still my agent today.

    The moral of the story is to be true to your voice and your story. Write what YOU want, not what somebody else does.

     

    Listen to the WriterSpark podcast!

    25Nov, 2021
    Developing Voice

    Books want to be born: I never make them. They come to me and insist on being written, and on being such and such. :Samuel Butler

    Finding Voice

    Finding your voice is perhaps one of the most difficult things a writer must do. It’s not as if you’ve lost it and it’s hiding under the bed, waiting to be rediscovered. And you can’t copy someone else’s. Your voice is the single most important element in your writing because it makes your work distinctly yours. It’s a combination of your style, your phrasing, your unique vernacular, and how you create tension and build plot. Put it in a blender, mix it up, and voila!, you have voice.

    Everyone’s process of writing and finding their voice is different. This is how I developed Lola PI, and in the process developed my voice.

    Know what kind of book you want to write. I wanted to write a book for women, and more importantly, a book with a strong female protagonist. I thought about what I like to read. Mysteries, romance, and romantic suspense top the list. The obvious decision for me was to blend mystery with romance. But I didn’t necessarily want to keep the hero and the heroine apart the way they must be in a strictly romance book. Knowing exactly what you want to write and what you are writing helps keep you on track–and minimizes major revisions and changes later.

    Develop an interesting and likable character. My parents taught me to be an individual, to be self-sufficient and independent, to value myself. This is what I wanted from my character.

    • Knowing that I wanted a strong female protagonist was the first step in developing Dolores Cruz, aka Lola PI. I didn’t want to write her as an amateur detective because in my mind she needed to be driven, determined, and on the path to achieving her goal. So her passion became her desire to become a private investigator. The first book in the series, Living the Vida Lola, begins with Lola finishing her many required hours of internship with a licensed private investigator as required by the state of California. But she’s still a novice and nervous about solving her first big case as a lead investigator. I didn’t want Lola to live in a vacuum. She needed to be a well-rounded character and have other things going on in her life. Lola has to balance her career with her part-time job at her family’s restaurant, the demands of her family, and her love life. No easy feat.
    • Making Lola Mexican-American was a spontaneous, but natural decision. It’s a culture that is rich with family, language, and religion. Those values are not exclusive to the Hispanic culture, but ever since I married into a dynamic Mexican family, I’ve loved the distinct things that the culture has to offer. I wanted to portray what I love about the culture in a book, through Lola.

    Develop a theme. Good must triumph over evil–that is the major theme in the mysteries I write. A recurring sub-theme of the Lola PI series became my heroine’s struggle to balance the responsibilities of her job as a private investigator and solving cases with her dynamic and demanding family and her love life. Never easy, but she has a lot of fun trying.

    • Other themes are bound to develop in the writing of a book, but knowing what message you want to convey is always the main theme. My upbringing consisted of family, books, conversation, and a lot of unconditional love. It’s no wonder then that the books I write center around the strength of family and love, no matter what else is going on. Family is the core of my life and will always be an underlying them in my books.

    Figure out what your inspiration is. My husband is a first generation Mexican American whose native language was Spanish. He and his siblings (three brothers and three sisters) learned to speak English in the California school system. Their family is strong and successful, due to their upbringing, their parents, the values that were instilled in them, and the individual drive of each person. When my husband and his brothers and sisters were growing up family was valued, education was valued, and Church was valued, not necessarily in that order.

    • When I married into my husband’s family, their culture became part of me. I embraced it, as much for myself as for my children. I never wanted to be an outsider looking in on something I wasn’t a part of.
    • The characters from my book are inspired by my observations and experiences living as part of a large Mexican family. My sisters-in-law are Dolores Cruz to a certain extent. They are intelligent, fun, unique women and are the role models for my female characters just as my brothers-in-law are perfect examples of smart, diverse, thoughtful Mexican-American men.
    • I’m inspired to write about real people that are part of this wonderfully rich culture–people who belong to it, as well as people like me, who have embraced it in their lives.

    Develop a tone. Once I had my character, the theme, and the inspiration, the tone naturally came. Lola is feisty and strong. She is self-deprecating. She is sexual, but her sexuality doesn’t define her. She is smart and not afraid to show it. And she can kick ass. She is independent and unique. All of these elements lend themselves to the tone of the book.

    • Lola’s view on life, experiences, and struggles give the books a Chick Lit bent. It’s a book geared toward women, about women.
    25Nov, 2021
    Tips to Finding a Literary Agent

    Whoever knocks persistently, ends by entering. :Ali (A.D. 600?-661), Maxims of Ali

    Tips to Finding a Literary Agent

    Finding an agent is only one step (after writing a great book) in the challenging process of building a career as an author. My experience taught me that the industry adage No agent is better than the wrong agent is completely and unequivocally true. I was completely green when I started taking my writing career seriously. I’d written a book that I thought was pretty good, with characters that I loved, but I was afraid to send it out to agents.

     

    An Anecdote

    One day, after my hard-written book had been sitting untouched in my computer for untold months, I had the good fortune to come into contact with a semi-retired literary agent who agreed to read my book. I jumped at the chance to get some authentic feedback. Several months, and a few revisions later, Agent X agreed to take me on as a client. Needless to say, I was thrilled!

     

    A Year Later

    But a year later, after three rejections from different imprints of the same publisher, I was not so thrilled. The process of submissions and rejections was disheartening and I hadn’t yet developed the thick skin required of an author. The bottom line was that this agent and I did not see my book the same way. When the last of the three rejections came, I asked what was next, thinking she’d branch out to different publishers and begin marketing my book from a different angle. Instead she told me that she didn’t have the energy to submit elsewhere.

    I was crushed. I had to start over. I contemplated giving up my dream right then and there.

     

    No Quitting!

    But I didn’t, and perseverance and commitment led me to my dream agent.

    I made myself look at the situation with a ‘glass half full’ philosophy. I evaluated my relationship with Agent X and realized that I’d learned a ton from her and I’d grown as a writer and a person in the year she’d been representing me. The most important things I’d learned?

    She encouraged me to join Romance Writers of America and my local chapter, Sacramento Valley Rose, two amazingly supporting writing organizations.

    She encouraged me to find a critique group. I did. We’re called the Scarlets and they have become an integral part of my writing life. And they’re great friends, too.

     

    Understanding What You Want

    The process of working with an agent helped me to define what I want to accomplish as a writer and set goals for myself. I believe these are keys to success–for anyone in any field.

    Once Agent X and I had amicably parted ways, I regrouped and began a search for a new agent. I spent hours on Agentquery.com, identifying agents who were looking for the type of book I’d written, who were taking on new clients, who accepted email queries, and who had a proven track record of sales. I drafted a query letter and submitted.

     

    Snail Mail

    After what felt like a thousand trips to the post office to mail off partial and full manuscripts from the requests I received, three agents were interested in my work and contacted me. Now that was thrilling! Ultimately I had to decide what direction to take my book and who I wanted to work with as the agents each saw my book a little differently. I made my decision (one of the toughest I’ve ever made), and have actually changed agents twice since that decision.  Initially, I listened to other people rather than my gut. Instead of going with a good agent from a boutique firm, I went with a high-powered agent in a huge firm. In the end, it just wasn’t right for me. Lesson learned.

    I ended up parting ways with her and signing with the person who had been her assistant and was now going out on her own. That was a great decision.

    I recently (2022) said goodbye to the agent I had for nearly 20 years. It felt like the end of an era, but the direction of our careers diverged. With her help, I landed someone amazing and now feel very invigorated. Everything feels fresh and new again.

     

    Having Someone Who Believes In You

    Having someone who believes in you and your writing is huge. And it’s not something to be taken lightly. Finding any agent is hard work. Finding the right agent can seem nearly impossible. But doing your research, targeting agents that represent what you write, and believing in yourself, your talent, and your goals can and will result in your success.

     

    5 Tips for Finding a Literary Agent

    1. Believe in yourself. 
    2. Learn how to write a Killer Query letter. 
    3. Do your research. Learn what literary agents are looking for what you write. Check out HERE and HERE.
    4. Be patient. Everything in the publishing world is a long game.
    5. Trust your instinct. I didn’t, and while it worked out okay in the end, I often wonder how things would be different had I gone with my gut.

     

    Read about the difference between marketing and promotion.

    28Oct, 2021
    The Difference Between Marketing & Promotion

    The Differences between Marketing and Promotion & Stepping Outside Your Comfort Zone (This was first released in the RWA PROspects Newsletter as part of a larger joint article with Nikki Duncan.)

    It’s never too early to begin marketing yourself and promoting your stories, but knowing how and where to begin can be tough. In this series of articles over the next few months, Misa and I will discuss the differences between marketing and promotion and share tips that we’ve learned along our paths to publication and things we’ve picked up since our first sales.

    What’s the difference between marketing and promotion?

    ND: Marketing is when you spread your name far and wide. Promotion is spreading the message of your product, your book, far and wide.

    MR: Marketing and promotion work hand in hand. I see marketing as keeping me, the auhor, in the minds of readers. This is where branding comes into play and is a valuable tool. You can brand yourself, brand your book series, brand a character… and then use specific activities to promote that brand in every way possible. Building the brand–or marketing your name, your book, or your series–helps stimulate demand.

    Marketing means committing to some sort of advertising (which can be free or paid) and publicity (meaning being mentioned in the press, having articles written, etc).

    Promotion, on the other hand, focuses on one specific thing…like your first release. It focuses on immediate sales and means doing things to ensure that you’re continuing to give your readers what they want. How you market this first release, or a book in one series, will likely be very different from how you market book 2, or a book in another series. Some promotional tools that work within a solid marketing plan (and you should have a plan!) include bookmarks, postcards, book signings, speaking engagements, informative web sites and paid advertisements found in publications like Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, etc. You have to be proactive in marketing yourself and promoting your book. Instead of bookmarks, I created recipe cards for Living the Vida Lola. This was a promotional tool. I then sent these recipe cards out to independent booksellers as part of my marketing plan. I also handed them out at book signings as a way to promote my presence at the bookstores.

    To successfully market, you have to first identify your potential audience, and how to reach them. You then go back to promotion by using the ‘brand’ you already have in place (continued advertising, promotions, public relations, etc) to reach that audience.

    I’m not outgoing. What can I do that will fit within my comfort zone?

    ND: Judi McCoy said in a workshop recently, “You’re a writer. You aren’t allowed to be introverted.” Marketing and promotion may be uncomfortable for you, but at some point if you hope to be a huge success you have to step outside of your comfort zone. You have to promo your books and talk to people. The internet can lessen the burden for you. People always think that I’m an extroverted person rather than introverted. “It’s easy for you to join a group and get to know people,” or “You leave a crowd feeling energized whereas an introverted person is exhausted afterwards,” they say to me. Based on my natural tendencies, both statements about me are false. You’ve heard the phrase “Fake it till you make it.” That’s what you have to do.

    It’s my choice to succeed as a writer. To do that, I have to step out of my comfort zone, because no one is responsible for my success except me. In crowds of people I don’t know, that means putting on a brave face. It means telling myself every day that I am not afraid of rejection and that I can handle it if someone doesn’t want to be my friend, agent, or editor. Some groups are easier for me to meld into than others, but if I don’t put the effort forth to let people get to know me then it’s my fault. It’s exhausting and draining and I crash into bed at night like a brainwashed zombie (is that an oxymoron), but with the crash is a satisfaction that I’ve done what I can for the day to ensure my success.

    MR: There are things you can do to look confident, even if you aren’t feeling confident. If you’re at a book signing, for example, try to stand. Don’t sit behind a table! Have something to hand out (like the recipe cards I mentioned above). If you’re handing something to someone, chances are they’ll take it. They may not buy your book, but they’re walking away with something concrete, something that has your name on it, your book title/cover, and it will act as a continual form of marketing.

    With e-publishing, book signings don’t happen, so you’re off the hook! However, like Nikki said, creating an online presence is so important no matter what path you take to publishing. Maintain a professional attitude, find your voice and use it, and market yourself! It’s not always easy, but it is part of the job. If you want to be successful, you have to devote a certain amount of time to the marketing of your books/brand. Eventually, it’ll become more comfortable.

    ND: To piggy back on what Misa said about e-publishing and book signings, keep in mind that in many cases there will not be book signings as an e-published author. However, there are e-publishers that release books in print as well as electronically, so you may still have the option of book signings if they’re important to you. Regardless of the publishing medium, if you’re nervous about a book signing, invite your friends and family to help create buzz during the event to people in and out of the store. Ask the CRM to make announcements throughout the event to encourage people to come see you. One author I know sends out eVites to everyone she knows when she has a book signing. Another holds only one book signing after each release and invites everyone she knows to that signing. Both authors have huge turn outs. The people they know help put them at ease and draw in new readers by watching for people who are looking on to see what’s happening. Caveat: It is important to not use these people as a crutch to keep you from talking to new people. Stay aware for people looking curious. Say hi, offer candy or a bookmark or something. You’ll be amazed how many people will stop and chat with you, and even buy your book.

    9Oct, 2021
    What is WriterSpark?

    WriterSpark Academy is a place to find everything you need to ignite your WriterSpark. Read on to learn more about the site and what you will learn here.

    Content is added regularly, so be sure to come back to explore new topics. 

    Upcoming series include:

    • Outlining 
    • Story Structure
    • Scene Structure
    • Character Development
    • Writing Life

    Editorial Services and One-on-One Coaching

    I offer One-on-One Coaching via the WriterSpark Academy online platform.

    I also offer a variety of editorial services. You can learn more about them Here.

    The Blog

    The WriterSpark Blog offers content specifically geared to help aspiring writers, as well as writers at any level, to hone their craft and refine their understanding of story structure, scene structure, character development, the writing life, and more.

    Writing Prompts

    Tap into your creativity by tackling the WriterSpark writing prompts.

    Come back often and Ignite your WriterSpark!

    6Oct, 2021
    Welcome to the WriterSpark Blog

    Welcome to the Writer Spark Writing Academy blog! If you’re here, chances are you have the dream of writing and possibly publishing a novel. 


    Eighteen years ago, I had that very same dream. I’d just had my youngest child. A good friend, Elena, was also and aspiring writer. She also had a new baby. We began meeting on Monday evenings  at a coffee shop in between our two homes, leaving the babies and other kids at home with the dads.

    We used a writing prompt book to guide us as we challenged ourselves to practice our craft. We were both teachers, me in English/Language Arts and her in elementary education. We both had a pretty good handle on showing verses telling, but understanding it in theory is a lot different than putting it into practice.

    For the first five or six meetings, our goal was to hone in on really descriptive writing. Elena often wrote about events or moments from her childhood. Honestly, I felt as if my writing was rather pedestrian compared to hers. She is a very poetic writer. She’s one of those people who not only paints a picture, but evokes subtle emotion at the same time. I remember one piece in particular. She described her childhood home. One line, in particular, has always stuck with me. She recounted the photos of her and her siblings on the staircase wall, elbowing against each other, fighting for their space and the attention of anyone who passed.

    She personified those photos so beautifully. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that description.

    As I sat down to plan this blog and think about how to make it most useful for aspiring writers, as well as writers who just want a little inspiration and craft practice, I realized that more than anything, writers need to write.

    It’s important to understand craft. There will be craft topics and studies. But every week, there will be a writing prompt in some form or fashion.

    There will always be a craft expectation set to go along with the prompt.

    I hope you visit here weekly to see the latest prompts and to refine your craft. 

    Happy writing

    Welcome, course, and article graphic images for WriterSpark Academy, online learning for aspiring authors
    5Oct, 2021
    This is it, Commit to Your Writing Life; Start Here!

    Welcome to WriterSpark!

    I’m Melissa Bourbon, founder of WriterSpark and WriterSpark Academy, an online learning platform for writers. I’m a teacher, content creator, and National Bestselling author of more than 25 books. 

    I created WriterSpark as a way to pay it forward. My first novel was published in 2008. In the years since, I’ve honed my craft, learned about the industry, and figured out how to balance my writing life with the rest of my life. I want to share what I’ve learned with you.

    Get to Know Me on the ABOUT page. 

    You can learn about my path to publication, and more.

    Check out the Blog

    I’ve had writing craft articles  published in various publications, and have been a speaker at many events. This content, as well as articles on craft, are found on the blog. 

    Writing Prompts

    My entire writing career started with writing prompts. A friend and I met once a month at a coffee shop where we chose prompts from a book and just wrote. It wasn’t long before I had created a character. In short order, that character had a family, friends, and a job. This all evolved into what became my first published book. Every week, I post writing prompts to help you tap into your creativity. 

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    Ignite Your WriterSpark!

    Settle in and read about novel writing, story structure, character development, explore the writing prompts, and learn about WriterSpark Academy courses.

    Thanks for being here!