For Writers



When I was first developing my writing skills, I was often frustrated by books that told me what I should be doing, but didn't give me a clear picture as to how to do it. Later when I began teaching writing, I decided to offer answers to those questions and discovered I had a bit of a knack for it. I give lots of examples, because I find seeing something in action makes it a lot easier to understand. What started out as a blog grew to a site focused on educating writers of all levels: Fiction University. 
My goal for my writing site is to offer ways to build a solid foundation for your writing. To provide tips and advice you can take right from the articles and apply directly to your work in progress. I won't just say you need to show, not tell--I'll give you tips on how to do that.
Not everything I suggest is going to work for everyone, but that's just the way writing is. There is no wrong or right way to write. My way is certainly not the only way, and may even be the wrong way for you. That might sound strange, but I know first-hand how frustrating it is to be told "You must do this" when "doing that" is more your style. To help with this, I have guest authors every week to talk about their process. To see how other writers do it that might be different than how I do it. Every writer has to find their own way, and we do that by trying every technique that seems interesting. Eventually, we stitch together a process that works for us and helps us tell our stories in the best way possible.

You'll find new writing craft articles on Mondays and Wednesdays, a writing article from the archives on Refresher Fridays, guest authors on Tuesdays, contributing authors about self publishing on Thursdays, diagnostics on Saturdays, and writing prompts on Sundays.

Regular columns:

Monday, Wednesday and Friday: Writing Articles: Janice Hardy shares general writing tips and advice. 

Tuesday and Thursday: Guest Authors: Not every writer writes the same way. Visiting authors and publishing professionals share tips, advice, and wisdom on both craft, being a writer, and the business side of publishing.

Saturday: Real Life Diagnostics. Part critique, part teach tool, Janice diagnoses reader submitted works in progress and answers questions pertaining to those works.

Sundays: Writing Tips and Prompts. Various tips and prompts are offered to inspire and encourage you to write. Some are for the fun of it, while others are designed to build a skill or challenge you to push yourself.

To make navigating the blog easier, there's also a Table of Contents with links and descriptions about where to find what you're looking for. Making the site more user-friendly is an ongoing process, and I welcome suggestions, comments, and questions. If you're curious about something I've haven't talked about, just ask and I will.

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