Visit Your Setting (Field Trip Time!) Where are the scenes in your novel set? A modern Dubai skyscraper? An 1880s silver-mining town in Colorado? A middle-school cafeteria? Backstage at a Broadway theater? An interplanetary spaceship? A t...

Writers, have you visited the settings in your novel to add authenticity to scenes? Maybe it's field trip time! You can do this no matter if you write urban mysteries or science fiction. See my article on the @RMFWriters blog: rmfw.org/visit-your-s...
#IamRMFW #writingcommunity

Happy Library Lovers’ Day! Tomorrow’s the big day! I hope you’ve picked out candy, roses, and some special sweet nothings to whisper into the ear of your favorite… librarian. That’s right, tomorrow (February 14) is Library Love...

Happy Library Lovers Day! Sure, it's also Valentines, but spare a little love for the libraries and librarians in your life! Check out my blog post about Library Lovers Day on the @rmfwriters.bsky.social blog: rmfw.org/happy-librar...
#IAmRMFW #writingcommunity #LibraryLoversDay

Change Up Your Writing Habits January is, as we all know, a good time to reevaluate our habits—modifying habits that need improvement, jettisoning those that are harming us, and congratulating ourselves on those that are working. ...

Are some of your writing habits dragging you down when they should be boosting you? I talk about examining our writing habits on the @rmfwriters.bsky.social blog today: rmfw.org/change-up-yo...
#Writingcommunity #IAmRMFW #writing

Writers on Writing: All the Advice You Need for 2026 We’ve collectively made another trip around the sun, welcoming in a new year. If you’re anything like me, the start of a new year means setting goals and, I hesitate to say it, making resolutions. And...

Writers' advice on writing, in Travis Tougaw's article on the @rmfwriters.bsky.social blog: rmfw.org/writers-on-w...
#IAmRMFW #writingcommunity

Holiday Gifts for Writers 2025 Do you have a writer on your gift list that you’re still shopping for? Here is my annual list of holiday gifts for writers! (It’s okay if you leave this list lying around where your family or friends ...

Got a writer on your gift list? Need ideas? Check out the @rmfwriters.bsky.social blog today for my annual "Holiday Gifts for Writers" post! rmfw.org/holiday-gift...
#WritingCommunity #IAmRMFW #writers

Comprise vs. Compose—Not the Same Thing! Pet peeves are funny. They start as barely-on-the-radar blips of something that seems a little off. Then a few more blips appear. And a few more. And pretty soon, the radar is lit up like the proverbi...

I'm having a "pet peeves" day. So I wrote about one of them on the @rmfwriters.bsky.social blog today, since writing helps one deal with an imperfect world, right? LOL. Check it out here: rmfw.org/comprise-vs-...
#IAmRMFW #WritingCommunity #GrammarNerd

10 Spooky Writing Prompts for Halloween 2025 As Halloween creeps closer on black-kitten paws and pumpkins wear leering grins or toothy scowls, we humans begin to feel the presence of those others. Ghost. Ghouls. Witches and sorcerers. Monsters a...

Nothing says Halloween like a spooky story. Ready to write your own? Check out my "10 Spooky Writing Prompts for Halloween 2025" on the
@rmfwriters.bsky.social
blog: rmfw.org/10-spooky-wr...
#Halloween #ghoststories #writingcommunity #IAmRMFW #writingprompts

Kate in men's suiting and hat, a costume of a 1920s gangster type, circa 2025.

Kate in suiting and hat, a costume of a 1920s gangster type, circa 1997.

Last weekend's Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers's #ColoradoGold Conference started with a Gatsby-theme costume party for volunteers.

It was not the first time I dressed as a 1920s gangster. Here's 2025 versus 1997. Same watch chain! #IamRMFW #COgold2025

Kelley Lindberg holding the RMFW Jasmine Award

At the @rmfwriters.bsky.social #ColoradoGold2025 conference last night, I was honored with the Jasmine Award for volunteer service. There's nothing like being cheered on by 300 amazing friends!
#IAmRMFW #gratitude

2025 Colorado Gold Writers Conference – Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers

Heading to the Colorado Gold conference today - Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers meets all weekend. It's my first time attending this conference! #CoGold2025 #IamRMFW

#writing #amwriting #fiction #scifi #sffh #sff #historicalfiction

Pro Tips for Surviving a Writing Conference I hate to admit how many writing conferences I’ve attended, as both attendee and speaker. Some might call it an addiction. I call it an essential part of my author journey, where I’ve learned my trade...

Heading to @rmfwriters.bsky.social writing conference tonight! That had me thinking about my tips for surviving and thriving at a writing conf, so I wrote a blog: rmfw.org/12-pro-tips-...
#IAmRMFW #COGold2025 #writingcommunity

Client-Centered Critique At almost every conference and writing class, I hear someone say that a good critique group is essential. The ancient craft book, How To Write a Damn Good Novel advises aspiring authors to not only fi...

Been asked to critique someone's work? Keep kindness in mind, as Amy Armstrong (@saltysweetsnacks.bsky.social) suggests in her article on the @RMFWriters blog: rmfw.org/client-cente...
#IAmRMFW #writingcommunity #critiquegroups

Pro Tips for Surviving a Writing Conference I hate to admit how many writing conferences I’ve attended, as both attendee and speaker. Some might call it an addiction. I call it an essential part of my author journey, where I’ve learned my trade...

Great blog post by @kelleylindberg1.bsky.social about how to survive (and thrive!) at a #writingconference. Both Kelley and I will be teaching at the upcoming #ColoradoGold2025, Sept. 25-28 in #Denver.

rmfw.org/12-pro-tips-... #writingcommunity @rmfwriters.bsky.social #IamRMFW

Remember Fun? We’re in the dog days of summer. As I type this, my OG dog, Ernie, is curled up on the carpet in front of me, worn out from gnawing on a frozen treat ball that I prepared for him and his floofy siblin...

Do you need to get yourself out of writing ruts? What are your tips. I explore my own funks in this short post. It’s so easy to obsess over technique or what people will think or some stupid piece of writing “advice” I got decades ago. rmfw.org/remember-fun/ #iamrmfw

The Story Only You Can Tell The world needs you. I hope that doesn’t place too heavy a burden on you. You may have come to the blog looking for writing tips or insight into the writer’s life. Whatever brought you here, I’m guess...

Travis Tougaw has a message on the @rmfwriters.bsky.social blog this month that I absolutely needed to hear. If you're feeling discouraged by your writing efforts (and even if you're not!), check this out: rmfw.org/the-story-on...
#IAmRMFW #writingcommunity

RMFW Colorado Gold Writing Conference Is Coming! Whether you’re new to writing or a seasoned author with best-selling books to your name, the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writer’s 2025 Colorado Gold Writing Conference has something to offer you. I love...

Have you registered for the @rmfwriters.bsky.social Colorado Gold writing conference yet? The regular registration rate is good until Aug 15, then it goes up! rmfw.org/rmfw-colorad...

#IAmRMFW #RMFWCOGold2025 #Writingcommunity

Join me at the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers (@rmfwriters.bsky.social) Colorado Gold writing conference Sept 26-28 in Denver-Aurora! rmfw.org/conference/

#IAmRMFW #writingcommunity

Reader Fatigue: Is Pacing in Novels a Lost Art? Lately, I’ve been reading books and watching movies that relentlessly pound their protagonists with traumatic plot point after traumatic plot point, with no sense of timing, pacing, breathing room, or...

I just read yet another book that pounded the characters with bad news relentlessly, to the point where I just rolled my eyes and didn't care about them anymore. That's the topic of my latest article on the @rmfwriters.bsky.social blog: rmfw.org/reader-fatig...
#IAmRMFW #writingcommunity

The Perfect Writing Day I almost forgot to post today because I was waiting for the perfect day to write it. That didn't happen, and this definitely isn't the post I planned for this week, but let's take a moment to consider...

Is today a perfect writing day? Hmmm. I'll have to MAKE it be one, inspired by this post from Amy Armstrong's (@saltysweetsnacks.bsky.social). rmfw.org/the-perfect-...
#IAmRMFW #Writingcommunity

But Where Do I Learn to Plot a Story? You Know, Write a Book? I too believe, per the below site, that one of the most important tools for authors is reading. Anything and everything imparts a prodigious vocabulary that is absent in many lives. “Ya know what I me...

Rainey Hall has some suggestions for refueling your creative writer's spirit and boosting your skillset on the @rmfwriters.bsky.social blog: rmfw.org/but-where-do...

#IAmRMFW #writingcommunity

Just Write It! Persevere through Writer’s Block – by Donna Lawrence Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about blocks. Not the LEGO blocks, city blocks, television news blocks, concrete blocks, etc. Those “blocks” never affected me much until it came to writing. This pa...

Guest blogger Donna Marie Lawrence writes about persevering through writer's block on the @rmfwriters.bsky.social blog: rmfw.org/just-write-i...
#IAmRMFW #writingcommunity

If I Only Had the Time… It happened again. I was talking to a person I’d recently met. My books came up, and he said, “I’d like to write a novel, if I could find the time.” I get that comment a lot. It always makes me won...

Think you don't have time to write a book? Neither do most of the people who've written them! See some tips on MAKING time from Travis Tougaw on the @rmfwriters.bsky.social blog: rmfw.org/if-i-only-ha...
#IAmRMFW #writingcommunity

Question Everything (in Life, and in Your Novel) “Question everything” is good advice for life. But it’s also excellent advice for writing. Questioning everything means carefully considering the methods and results of things you may do out of hab...

The importance of questioning your habits (in life, and in your writing) in my article on the @rmfwriters.bsky.social blog today: rmfw.org/question-eve...
#IAmRMFW #WritingCommunity

No Lie Lasts Forever: A Thriller Amazon.com: No Lie Lasts Forever: A Thriller: 9781662529597: Stevens, Mark: Books

Many thanks to incredible author Mark Stevens (@writerstevens.bsky.social) for his many years of blogging and podcasting for ‪@RMFWriters.bsky.social! Read his farewell blog post here: rmfw.org/so-long-fare... And check out his newest novel, No Lie Lasts Forever!
#writingcommunity #IAmRMFW #Mystery

Review of You: The Story: A Writer’s Guide to Craft Through Memory For this month, I’m reviewing one of the recent craft books that I’ve had on my virtual shelf: You: The Story: A Writer’s Guide to Craft Through Memory by Ruta Sepetys. This might seem like an odd cho...

I'm going to have to add this writing-craft book to my TBR list now! See Amy Armstrong's (@saltysweetsnacks.bsky.social) blog on the @rmfwriters.bsky.social blog. rmfw.org/review-of-yo...
#IAmRMFW #writingcommunity

Marketing Isn’t Magic (Might Be Easier If It Were) – By R. L. S. Hoff Since I published my first book four and a half years ago, I’ve rarely known what I should do about marketing. It’s not for a lack of guidance. Just last week, I had 5 emails and 3 DMs on social platf...

Struggling to see if your marketing efforts for your book offer a good return on investment? You’re not alone. Check out R.L.S. Hoff’s (@rlshoff.bsky.social) guest blog post on the RMFW blog: rmfw.org/marketing-is...
#IAmRMFW #writingcommunity

Kaitlyn’s Dare: Critique and the Art of Aggressive Positivity A phrase stitched together one of the more mind-altering critiques I ever got on a story. Half of it was a common phrase, and an often maligned one. Maligned by those of us of the “you must have a thi...

Such a cool way to think about giving critiques (written for writers, but applies to all aspects of life, I think!), from Oliver Blakemore (@oliverstoryteller.bsky.social) on the @rmfwriters.bsky.social blog: rmfw.org/positive-fee...
#IAmRMFW #writingcommunity

Writing For Contests I screen stories for a literary magazine, and we host multiple contests throughout the year, including short story contests, novel excerpt contests, and chapter book contests. I hate to admit it, but ...

If you're thinking about submitting to a writing contest, here are some great tips from an insider (Amy Armstrong, @saltysweetsnacks.bsky.social) on the @rmfwriters.bsky.social blog: rmfw.org/writing-for-...
#IAmRMFW #writingcommunity

Writing Organizations: To Join or Not to Join In a recent chat with a writer friend, we discussed the writing organizations we belong to and the benefits we get from each. I’m a huge fan of writing organizations. As writers, it’s tempting to w...

I'm a huge fan of joining writing organizations if they offer value and benefits I need at my stage of my career. If you're thinking about joining one, I have some tips on what to look for on the @RMFWriters blog: rmfw.org/writing-orga...
#IAmRMFW #WritingCommunity

Writing Your Ending First A number of fiction critics have pointed out the sorry endings to many of Stephen King’s novels. They admit these novels were exciting, interesting, intriguing, and mysterious—until the end. Some comp...

Write the ending first? What an unexpected--and yet strangely compelling--idea! See Ann Gordon's post on the @RMFWriters blog today: rmfw.org/writing-your...
#IAmRMFW #writingcommunity #writers #amwriting