Have you ever had a brilliant idea for a story but then, when it's time to actually name the main character, or the street she lives on, or the bad her grandmother plays in, or her favorite book and you have absolutely no idea where to start? Thankfully, there are a ton of great name generators out there to either give you the perfect name or at least get the creative juices flowing in the right direction. Here are four our our favorite name generators: Masterpiece Generator If you need a name, this site can give it to you. First…

A few months back. my dear writer friend, Suzanne McKenna Link, invited me to a virtual weekend workshop with the Long Island Romance Writers writing group. I am by no means a writer of romance, but I do read them, and often edit them. For a small fee, I got to sit in several workshop sessions, the last of which featured guest speaker, Becca Syme. I'm not sure what I expected in a workshop about writing strengths, but I am a firm believer in fate. The magnanimous creativity gods saw fit to put this presentation on my writing path (can…

When I think back to the early days of my decision to make writing a big part of my life, it wasn't all butterflies and rainbows. In fact, I shared the opening chapter of my first book and had it absolutely ripped to shreds. It made me exceptionally hesitant to share my work with anyone. And then I happened upon a free writing course offered by Writers' Village University and decided to take a chance. Turned out to be the best decision I ever made. Not only was the free writing class a huge boost to my confidence and skill…

During one of my last classes for my MFA, we were working to develop a plan for how we intended to support our writing careers. And while winning the lottery was decidedly the easiest method, I knew I was going to have to buckle down and get smart about how writers make their way in this world. About the same time, I also finished up a fantastic who-done-it mystery novel called The Low Country Bribe, part of C. Hope Clark's Caroline Slade mystery series. Call it fate or serendipity, but it turns out that very same author is the founder…