As an engineer, Stephen is accustomed to focusing on all the smaller parts that come together to make a cohesive whole. In 2011, he applied this skill to a newfound love, writing. Stephen started with a few scenes that grew into a novella, then came more writing, feedback, more knowledge, more, more, more until…he sold 7,000 books in one month. One of his books, A Hero, took home the Gold Award for Science Fiction in the 2019 Royal Palm Literary … Read More »

I’d seen so many writers quit when trying to revise their novels, but the question was: what could I do about it? I wanted to make a resource any writer could use with any fiction genre to guide them through the revision process. After creating The Complete Revision Workbook for Writers: Tools for a Polished Novel, I wondered if I did just that. Reviews trickled in. Word of mouth spread. Speaking events were booked. But I still wasn’t sure if … Read More »

Getting professional feedback on a work close to your heart can be soul-crushing. You have two choices: give up or dive back in and do the work. Lucky for readers everywhere, Mark Newhouse pulled up his sleeves after getting his rubrics back from RPLA judges and revised his story. He turned his non-winning book into a winner, a big winner. The Devil’s Bookkeepers Book 1: The Noose won First Place for Published Historical Fiction and also Published Book of the … Read More »

Some people are completely unhelpful in a writer’s journey. You know the type—the ones who say you can’t do something or that your writing doesn’t have an audience. Lara Lazenby has certainly faced her share of naysayers. People told her she couldn’t write a book about a child with cancer because no one would read it. After beating cancer four times herself, Lara refused to let anything hold her back anymore. After writing on and off for nine years, she … Read More »

A big component of being a successful writer is the willingness to experiment, take risks, and not let fear hold you back. Laura Holian was curious about the Royal Palm Literary Awards and decided to submit a story, even though she had never thought about writing short stories before. It turned out to be a very rewarding move. Her story Sick Day won First Place for Published Creative Nonfiction in 2018. Laura talks about the importance of emotion, outlining, and … Read More »

Are writers born with a natural gift that some have and others don’t? Or is writing a skill that can be learned by those who work hard enough? This ages-old debate has always had proponents on both sides. Annette Masters is no stranger to the idea that writers either “have it” or they “don’t.” In high school she was told she was clearly the latter, and the consequences of that kept her from  writing for twenty-six years. But now this … Read More »