A Novel Idea

Every work of fiction starts with a novel idea—something so big, so uniquely you, that you have to put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard. Then comes the real work: crafting characters, plot, subplots, dialogue, setting, and theme. And let’s not forget marketing and book promotion!

If this all seems daunting, even monumental, this issue will help you get started and keep you on track. The experts “between the pages” provide advice for every stage of the game, and will even introduce you to new ideas. It’s only natural to fear the process will be too difficult, but with the right tools at hand, your fingers will begin to tap furiously. The first thing you need to remember is fiction should be fun, a chance to play and explore a magical world of your making.

The laundry can wait. The dishes can sit. We have fiction to write!

A big, warm, thank you goes out to our freelancers and staff members:

We welcome new freelancer, Beth Daniels (aka Beth Henderson), to the WOW! family. If you are new to novel writing and don’t know where to start, take Beth Daniel’s advice and begin by Preparing to Tell Lies (Fiction Slam).

Another issue that first-time novelists face is deciding whether to Outline Vs. Blank Page. We welcome back freelancer, Devon Ellington, and delight as she discusses the pros and cons of this topic in depth for our Freelancer’s Corner column.

Perhaps you’re in the midst of crafting a novel or short story, and need to brush up on dialogue. Then Gayle Trent’s article, Tips for Making Dialogue Stronger (Fiction Slam) is definitely for you. Gayle is currently touring with WOW! for her latest novel, Murder Takes the Cake, but this is her first foray into freelancing for us, and we’re proud to have her!

We welcome new freelancer, Suzanne Pitner, to the WOW! family. Suzanne helps us get into the groove of National Novel Writing Month with her article, NaNoWriMo Applied. If you’re new to NaNo, check out this article. And if you’re NaNoing right now, be sure to explore the fantastic resources in the “NaNo Toolbox” sidebar!

We welcome back WOW! Alumni Member, Allie Boniface! In this issue, Allie covers a unique topic—IM Novel Collaboration—in an interview with sister-author duo, Stella and Audra Price. Allie’s previous articles include Today's Romance Novel: It's Not Your Mother's Bodice Ripper Anymore, How To Play Nice in the Cyber-Sandbox, and a unique article for fiction writers, Character Trouble? Try Man's Best Friend. It’s always a pleasure, Allie!

Another starting point in novel writing is crafting characters, but what should you name them? New freelancer, Lynda Schab, tackles that question in depth in this month’s How2 Column: How To Choose Character Names for Your Novel. Welcome, Lynda! Your article has definitely shed a new light on my fictional characters.

A huge thank you goes out to WOW! Columnist, Marcia Peterson, for two fabulous and insightful interviews this month. If you are seeking writerly inspiration, prompts, and creative juice, be sure to check out her interview with Patti Digh, author of Life is a Verb, featured in this month’s Inspiration Column. If you need to motivate your muse, this has got to be one of the most encouraging interviews I’ve read in a while. Be sure to check out the excerpt and try Patti’s focused free-write exercise! Also, be sure to read the part where Patti first declares, “I’m a writer.” We all can relate!

Marcia Peterson also interviews Hollis Gillespie, author of Trailer Trashed, for our 20 Questions Column. This interview is not only fun, but informative! A close sister to fiction writing, memoir writing proves to be just as creative and colorful. This interview is not to be missed!

With all this talk about writing, let’s not forget one of the most important aspects of authoring—book promotion! We welcome new freelancer, Rita Milios, to the WOW! family. Rita shares a unique idea for promoting your novel, which she explores in depth in her feature article, How To Create Quizzes that Sell Your Novel. Take Rita’s quiz and find out where you score on the book-marketing highway!  

We also announce our Summer 2008 Flash Fiction Contest Winners! This is always a grand occasion, and we are thrilled with literary agent Elise Capron’s selections. A huge thank you goes out to Elise, and also to our multitude of guest judges who carefully scored this season’s entries. Be sure to check out the fabulous sponsors that rallied to support women writers. Each one of them, truly remarkable.

And last, but not least, to Annette Fix and Joanne Stacey for their wonderful editing skills. The issue couldn’t have happened without your attention to detail!

Announcements:

The Muffin Got a Makeover!

Finally! It’s been over a year since I discovered the template was broken in Internet Explorer, and I’d been putting off delving into the scary world of html, but I simply couldn’t stand it any longer. So, I finally treated her to a spa day. The Muffin officially has a new outfit—a gorgeous three-piece ensemble, otherwise known as a three-column template. It was not an easy task! This old girl is still in FTP Blogger Beta, so I had to create the template from scratch—no easy push-button publishing here. It caused me an html headache, but it was worth it. I’d love to know what you think! Check out The Muffin today.

WOW! Launches Blog Tours and Partnership Program

Due to popular demand, WOW! is hosting select authors for its Blog Tour Program. In preparation for the launch, we scoured the web for various blogs that were not only well-trafficked and well-commented, but truly unique, to participate in our Partnership Program. The program has already been well-received, with numerous requests from both authors and bloggers.

The first two authors to take center stage were Gayle Trent, author of Murder Takes the Cake (Bell Bridge Books, October 2008), and Linda C. Wisniewski, author of Off Kilter: A Woman’s Journey to Peace with Scoliosis, Her Mother, and Her Polish Heritage (Pearlsong Press, 2008).

Our “test-run” into this new venue has already taken off like wildfire. So many wonderful blogs have stepped up to the plate, and both Gayle and Linda truly outdid themselves. Believe me, I made them work! These ladies went out of their way to provide unique articles for each blog, and no two blogs were the same. They wrote articles on the topics of family, cake decorating, health issues, yoga, inspiration, and of course, craft of writing articles. They also conducted interviews, and participated in book giveaways!

To keep up with our latest blog book tours, snag our events calendar!

Would you like to book a blog tour with WOW!?

Let us help promote you! We provide you with excellent customer service and out of the box promotions. Your tour would include:

• 12-15 stops with highly trafficked blogs (tailored for your book)
• An interview on one of WOW’s blogs
• Email blog tour announcement in WOW’s Events Newsletter (20,000 subscribers)
• Written media release sent to editors, sister sites, and posted on social networks

To find out more about our economically priced packages, please email Angela & Jodi: blogtour[at]wow-womenonwriting[dot]com.  We look forward to working with you and making your promotion a success!

Now, on to the issue...enjoy!