An Interview by Deborah L. Brewer A debut novel, like other firsts, requires the mastery of various skills along a steep learning curve, including language, story mechanics, and professionalism. Like climbing Mt. Everest, publishing may be a profound personal accomplishment, but neither is achieved alone. There are other achievers along […]

By Laura Hayden “To appreciate nonsense requires a serious interest in life.” Gelett Burgess (1866-1951) Webster defines humor as “that which is comical or amusing.”  It’s a flat definition for a concept that has many dimensions. But the challenge to humor isn’t defining it but recognizing and learning how to […]

By Deborah L Brewer “…kill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler’s heart, kill your darlings.” Thus, Stephen King famously paraphrased the words of a novelist from an earlier generation. That novelist was Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch, an Edwardian-era, Cambridge Professor of English Literature […]

By Monique Bos One of my fiction teachers observed a strict “rule of three” about descriptions. Writers, he believed, should provide three—no more and no less—descriptive details about each main character in their stories. And each detail had to convey an essential insight into the individual. He didn’t need to […]

By Catherine Dilts Gems I gleaned from workshops I attended at the 2024 Pikes Peak Writers Conference. It’s impossible to capture all I learned at PPWC 2024 in a few words, but here are some favorite quotes and nuggets of information. There was so much more!  Najla Mamou – Editor, […]

An Interview by Deborah L. Brewer When I think of cozy mysteries, I often think of bookshops, tea time, quaint towns, and cats. But cozies, as these gentle, escapist novels are sometimes called, range from quirky and humorous, to historic and romantic, to realistic, contemporary tales that merely leave out […]

By Johnny Worthen My academic career was not in writing but in criticism. When I turned my powers to evil and became a writer, I used my knowledge of the inner layers of literature to create more. Thus I’ve written in more genres than any modern author should be allowed, […]

by Sam Knight Show, don’t tell, they say. And then you ask what that means, they ramble off into infinity, citing works and authors you’ve never heard of, sometimes giving their favorite examples, but they never really answer you. Probably because they can’t show you how to do it without […]

By Catherine Dilts Certain stages in life are clearly defined. Birth. School graduations. Weddings. They occur at a specific date and time. Retirement has been harder for me to pin down. My husband is still active in his career, working remotely for a medical device company. When my day job […]

(or The Importance of Having Your Story Read by a Bunch of Other People Before You Submit it for Publication) By Bowen Gillings You’ve written THE END. You did your editorial pass-through once, twice, maybe ten times or more, so you’re darn sure that story is ready for the world […]

By Marlene Fabian Stiles Every writer has gems of ideas whirling around their heads like electrons circling a nucleus. The Pikes Peak Writers’ Anthology project offers the unique opportunity to develop one of these germinating ideas into a compelling short story and who knows, it could be the genesis of […]

An Interview by Deborah L. Brewer A multi-genre author of fifteen novels and many short stories, Laura Hayden wears many hats in the publishing industry. Besides being an author, she is also the owner of the online and mobile bookshop Author, Author! providing bookstore services for writing and author events, […]

One of the most frequently asked questions authors receive is, “Where do you get ideas for your stories?” To which the answer is most often, “I don’t know.”  Ideas come from all sorts of places: snippets of conversation, a misspoken word, an old telescope in your closet. Sometimes writers ponder […]

By Jenny Kate In the ever-changing landscape of book marketing, staying abreast of the latest trends is crucial for authors. As we step into 2024, it’s evident that the strategies employed to promote books have undergone significant shifts compared to the previous year. A recent survey conducted by the Written […]

By Deborah Brewer I don’t know about you but my writing goals for this new year are going to take some doing. But writers, we’ve got this. When facing a challenge, a little encouragement of the right sort never hurts, so I’ve revisited the advice books of a few well-regarded […]

So, you want to write a book. Or perhaps you’ve written one and would like to write more. Where should you start? How can you make this writing year your most productive yet?  Whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned writer with multiple books in print, these five habits will […]

Here we are! The last week of 2023. We’ve had a great year here at Writing from the Peak; readership traverses ten countries! Many thanks to our contributors again for sharing their vast knowledge and expertise. It’s exceptional working with and getting to know each of you. I can’t wait to […]

Each year Pikes Peaks Writers asks conference attendees for their feedback. If you’re wondering what makes the Pikes Peak Writers Conference special, Dear Readers, I introduce you to Jenna MacFarlane. Jenna is a member of Pikes Peak Writers and the author of Hardware Stories and her memoir, Hindsight. Thank you, […]

By Donna Schlachter Networking and Online Author Groups Marketing—arrgh! Groups—double arrgh! When it comes to being a writer, I know I need to get out there. Get my books in front of readers. Get my projects in front of publishers or agents. Connect with other writers. Pay it forward, so […]

What is Mindset?  Merriam-Webster defines mindset as “a mental attitude or inclination.”  It’s the way you tend to think about things. Your mindset can be positive or negative or somewhere in between. It can change from season to season or situation to situation. But the thing is, you can control it.  […]

By Bowen Gillings The job of an author contains a load of responsibilities beyond putting words on the page. Every author must revise, get edited, network, promote, and run a business—and seek out cover artists, contests, conferences, and conventions. We must read to understand where our stories fit in our […]

From the Editor Hello, Dear Writers, It’s a busy time of year for many of us. Lots of Holidays are just around the bend. I wanted to take a moment to encourage you to slow down and take it all in and also to let you know that we are […]

By Sam Knight Filler words, also known as null words, are words that add no meaning to a sentence. They are extra, useless things, like raisins in cookies. Just kidding. I don’t like them, but some people do. I mention that because the same is true of filler words. Some […]

There is more to proofing a book than just reading the story. At some point in every writer’s career, you’ll be asked to proof a final version of your work. Sure, you’ll have various editors doing this, but you’ll need to be a part of it, too. After all, it’s […]

By Deborah L. Brewer Writers know it’s hard to materialize a phantasm into words that fully express all it means to us. It’s not merely clarifying our thoughts that proves difficult; it’s facing our feelings. The dream about being naked on a school bus and the story about the emperor’s […]