L.V. DITCHKUS

It’s okay to show up at a conference like a blank slate and drink it all in, but that’s not how I approach it. If I paid to attend, I...

A few months ago, I attended the Mountain Words Festival in Crested Butte, Colorado—a stunning mountain town with a world-class ski area...

While at this year’s RMFW conference in Denver, I picked up loads of writing craft tips, re-wrote the logline for the second book in my...

Don’t let opportunities escape—no matter how mundane or seemingly inane. We've just returned from a trip to visit dear friends in Ottawa,...

The storyteller’s point of view (POV) creates a bond between your readers and the story. As an author, you should consider whether that...

Each principal character in your novel or short story should be unique, and this distinctiveness is more than how they look. Every...

When there’s inconsistency in your story OR individuals act out of character, you’ve got a plot hole that needs to be fixed. Here’s a few...

Some authors write every day. Others (like me) write a minimum number of hours per week. When I look back at my logged hours, I see very...

So you’ve finished writing the best book on the planet. Now it’s time to design a cover that potential readers can’t resist. Besides the...

As a judge for the upcoming Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC), my team and I will be reviewing about 60 books (out of...

For those who love to plant flowers in the spring, there is nothing like cleaning out the beds and putting new plants into the soil. The...

In our 40s, some people have a mid-life crisis and dwell on lost youth to the detriment of enjoying their remaining years. Those who...

Many authors work for years on a novel they never finish. To them, the idea of writing a book series might seem unfathomable. But if...

Ask any writer what one of their greatest frustrations are, and they will have a long list. However, that list will most likely...

Did you know wild elephants average just 2 hours of sleep a night? Thankfully, humans typically get more sleep than that. But suffice it...

Assume you’ve written the perfect novel, and you’d like to start looking for an agent or consider self-publishing. How do you know your...

First off, what is an anthology? An anthology is a published collection of short stories or poems. It can be written by different authors...

If you’ve never heard of NaNoWriMo (https://nanowrimo.org), you might be amazed or in awe of what it does. This organization supports the...

Check out the Speculative Fiction Writers Group post from L.V. Ditchkus: https://specficwriters.com/is-sasquatch-the-next-big-thing/

As a new writer, I loved developing the first draft. My creative juices flowed, and new ideas gave me goosebumps. The editing process...