By Joe Moore For those of you who like fish—raising, not eating—there are few more beautiful and easy to care for than a betta fighting fish. They come from Thailand and can live in as little water as what’s left … Continue reading
by Debbie Burke Recently I was talking offline with Justin, a regular TKZ reader. He’s currently editing his thriller novella and asked how to “declutter” it. Great question! Novella length is typically 20K-40K words. Jim Bell’s recent post on novellas … Continue reading
Three weeks ago I attended the Willamette Writers Conference, held in person in Portland, Oregon, and online via Zoom. It was my first writer’s conference since 2019, when I co-presented at WWC on getting your books into libraries and also … Continue reading
Manuscript Surgery Revisited Terry Odell I hit “The End” on the current WIP, which is really “The Beginning.” Because I’m on deadline now, I’m revisiting a post that appeared several years ago. I think in surgical terms when I tackle … Continue reading
Today’s post is a quick-and-dirty outline for “publishing yourself” in 2026 and beyond, based on presentations I’ve given for writers organizations and at Rainforest Writers Retreat. Once upon a time self-publishing meant sending your manuscript to a printer to do … Continue reading
Never wait for trouble. —Chuck Yeager * * * “Aviate. Navigate. Communicate.” When I was taking private pilot lessons, my instructor drilled this three-word phrase into me in every lesson as essential to successful flying. Although you need to keep … Continue reading
For years, my library colleagues would ask when I was going to write that library mystery. Afterall, I read mysteries, was a writer, and worked at library, so it seemed like a natural fit to them. While I thought about … Continue reading
by Debbie Burke Welcome to Part 3 of the rundown on the Flathead River Writers Conference. If you missed anything, here are links to Part 1 and Part 2. In Part 1, emcee Kathy Dunnehoff observed that normally introverted writers … Continue reading
Every writer has heard of writer’s block. Whether they believe in it or not, it’s been part of the conversation and lore around writing for a very long time. One of my favorite movies about fiction writing, Throw Momma From … Continue reading
by James Scott Bell @jamesscottbell The sun was shining, the sky was blue (sorry, Elmore, for starting with the weather). So I decided to take a walk to Trader Joe’s. At checkout the pleasant young lady asked, “How’s your day … Continue reading