by Zoe M. McCarthy | Mar 29, 2018 | Writing
All characters should have flaws. Only some will be inherently mean. How mean should a criminal character be? I met young men in an eight-year prison ministry. Inmates, called cadets and incarcerated at a juvenile correctional center, attended our church’s monthly...
by Zoe M. McCarthy | Mar 22, 2018 | Writing
Many writers think they’re bona fide authors when they’ve published a book. Today, anyone can publish books through CreateSpace, or the like. Others think accumulating thousands of fans shows they’ve arrived. But what about authors who have smaller followings of...
by Zoe M. McCarthy | Mar 15, 2018 | Writing
When I started writing, I couldn’t have imagined what my weeks would look like after my books published. For the last seven years, I’ve been a full-time writer. Let me rephrase that, a full-time author. I’ve learned there’s a difference, as I’ll show. Background I...
by Zoe M. McCarthy | Mar 8, 2018 | Writing
The hero in my next romance is a cattle farmer in Southwestern Virginia. I pass cattle farms often. I see muddy areas where the cows have been brought in from the pasture, the tabs stapled to their ears, the machinery, and the farmhouses. These offer little about what...
by Zoe M. McCarthy | Mar 1, 2018 | Writing
A Writer’s Digest article* suggested a devastating choice will hook readers and show much about your character. This intrigued me. Although the writer discussed how to develop the story before and after the choice, I approached the idea from a different angle. How...
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