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Oddly Optimistic
By Darlene Cah I think most people would agree 2016 was a crazy year. Heartbreaking. Frustrating. Infuriating, mind-numbing with emotions ranging from flaring tempers to blissful denial. And yet, in...
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Goals for 2017 by Brad Windhauser
Goals for 2017 by Brad Windhauser 2016 turned out to be a surprise of a year for me. Personal and political issues aside, I was unprepared for the wonderful surprise of having my second novel accepted...
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Old Story, Surprising Results
By Darlene Cah 2016 was my love/hate relationship with writing year. It was a year of questioning whether or not I even want to continue. It was a year of just plain being tired of everything. My job...
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2016 – The Year of The Intersection: Not What I Expected by Brad Windhauser
2016 – The Year of The Intersection: Not what I expected When this year started, I looked forward to so many things—not the least of which was getting married, which I did in October. In terms of...
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Just Write a Few Ads
By Darlene Cah This month we’re taking a look at the teachers who influenced us as writers. From the crotchety nuns of my childhood to long-haired hippie types in high school, all the way to the...
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Teaching Me To Keep Writing
by Jennie Jarvis As a writer, I’ve had a lot of teachers guide me on my journey to get all those pesky stories out of my head and onto the page. Some of them guided me in a classroom, such as Hal...
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Refilling The Well: Getting Re-inspired After A Creative Drought by Jennie...
By Jennie Jarvis Have you ever had a period of time where the very idea of writing stresses you out? You remember what writing is, don’t you? That thing you used to do, long ago, that gave you so much...
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8 Simple Salami Tactics to Exercise the Routine that Makes the Muse Chase YOU...
by Ron Hayes (note: YIKES! Forgive that crazy title this month, will you?) As a high school history teacher, I’m continually surprised at how frequently the seasonality of my work sneaks up on me. I...
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Using Pinterest As a Research Tool
by Jennie Jarvis As a fiction writer, most of my job entails making crap up. Yes, my stories are based in realities, and it’s important for those realties to ring true in the hearts and minds of my...
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Research Tips From A Librarian by Kate Neff
5writers.com welcomes Kate Neff to the site this month! Kate has worked in the library setting for over 15 years, from the public library, to colleges, to the public school system. It’s hard for her to...
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When The Muse Is Elusive
by Ron Hayes What does research have to do with poetry and why in the world would a poet ever need to do research? Ever been asked this question? Ever asked it yourself? When the term “research” crops...
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Writer as Actor
By Darlene Cah One of the most important lessons I learned as an improv actor was to always enter a scene with an emotion. As improvisers we had no idea what the scene was about, or where it would go,...
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Happy Tears and Sad Laughter: Displaying Emotions In A Human Way
by Jennie Jarvis In 2011, my father died of cancer. I had a great relationships with my dad, so, as you can imagine, this really sucked. When it came time to plan his funeral, however, I refused to let...
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Why I Don’t Need To Set Goals
By Linda Escalera Price I HATE goals. I know, I’ve mentioned this before. But I really do. So I don’t set them. Here’s my rationale. I don’t need goals to give me direction – I know where I’m headed. I...
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New Year. New Stories. New Ideas.
By Darlene Cah When I started thinking about this annual goal-setting post, my first thoughts went to the short story (possible novella) I want to finish, the short story I’m working on whenever I...
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2016 is The Year of Positive Energy
by Jennie Jarvis Happy New Year to all our regular 5writers.com readers! Each year, we love to start the year by telling you our goals in the hopes that it will show you that you aren’t alone in your...
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Goals for 2016 by Brad Windhauser
Goals for 2016 by Brad Windhauser I’m a scheduler, and setting goals (both large and small) keeps my work on track. Part of developing this particular skill means setting goals that are both important...
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2016: A Crossroads Year
by Ron Hayes In the Memeland known as Facebook, there’s a certain meme that has struck me kinda hard over the past few days. It’s the one that frames the new year as a metaphor for a 365-page book for...
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2015: A Year of Regrouping and Refocusing by Brad Windhauser
2015: A Year of Regrouping and Refocusing by Brad Windhauser This past year I took stock of my various ongoing writing projects. Were they still serving my career goals? Some were, some were not;...
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Conversation with the 2015 Muse
2015: The long-awaited return of the Muse By Darlene Cah Me: Oh, it’s you. I almost didn’t recognize you. Muse: Don’t be snarky. I have other writer clients, you know, and I’ve nudged you a few times...
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