Gina G writes

 Halloween "Halloween traditions in the West date back thousands of years to the festival of Samhain (pronounced 'Soo-when', 'So-ween' or 'Saw-wen'), the Celtic New Year's festival. The name means "summer's end", and the festival marked the close of the harvest season and the coming of winter. The  Celts  believed the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead was thinnest at this time and so the dead could return and walk where they had before. Further, those who died in the past year and who, for one reason or another, had not yet moved on, could do so at this time and might interact with the living in saying good-bye." - worldhistory.org Halloween is by far my favorite Holiday. But, its not really about the holiday itself. It is more about the season. It is saying farewell to the heat of summer, those dry endless months where the sun rules. It is welcoming the cooler weather, the changing colors of the trees, chilly nights,...

 Procrastination or The Art of Finding Other Things To Do It's 9 p.m., and I am finally sitting down to write. I have been home since five but distracted myself with other things, like dishes, laundry, and sweeping the floor for what feels like the five hundredth time this week. (Perks of having a long-haired dog, hair is everywhere.) I sat down at one point, opened up my current WIP, and checked where I was. I pulled up the story I am editing and stared at the page. I got up, put the laundry away, cleaned the bathroom, and surfed the net.  Distractions. They are everywhere. My dog is barking like she needs to go out, but really, she only wants a cookie. My phone dinged, I need to check and see who it was. I should do the dishes. Then I could run the dishwasher.  No! It's writing time. It's  "sit down and spill words onto the page time."  I should call my parents and see how they are doing. I need to take Misty for a walk around the block. You need to ...

  Make Your Setting Sing Think of the setting as a character in your story. It may not have a voice, but it certainly exists and should be brought to life. You want your readers to feel like they are in the scene, walking the streets, sitting in the cafe, feeling the Formica table under their hands, smelling and tasting the coffee.  Immerse your readers in the setting by incorporating rich sensory details. Whether it's a place you've physically visited or one that exists only in your mind, world-building is a powerful technique. You can draw it out, map by map. What does the land look like? What are the trees like? Do they walk? Sing? By incorporating the five senses into the scene, you can bring it to life and make your readers feel like they're right there.  The setting should be more than just a backdrop. It should be a living, breathing part of your story. You can't simply write, "The two men entered a bar." (Well, you could, but it would be flat.) This on...