About K.M. Weiland
K.M. Weiland grew up chasing Billy the Kid and Jesse James on horseback through the sand hills of western Nebraska, where she still lives. A lifelong fan of history and the power of the written word, she enjoys sharing both through her novels and short stories. She blogs at Wordplay: Helping Writers Become Authors, where she mentors other authors and shares the ups and downs of the writing life. K. M. has published books on a variety of topics, including: Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success, Behold the Dawn, a novel about the Crusades, and A Man Called Outlaw, a compelling Western.
To learn more about K. M., please visit the About page on her website.
You can also follow her on : Google+ | Goodreads | Pinterest
Motivation-Reaction Units: Cracking the Code of Good Writing
What’s the secret to good prose? What makes it work—not just on the aesthetic level of vivid and poetic word choices, but on the deeper and ultimately more important level of functionality?
The Surprising Effect of Too Much Clarity in a Story
This week’s video warns against the temptation to eliminate all subtlety and ambiguity.
Episodic Storytelling? Here’s Why
This week’s video offers some pointers for avoiding dead-end events in your stories.
How to Create a Surefire Awesome Setting
This week’s video offers suggestions for balancing the perception that reader dislike setting description with the reality that every book needs a vivid setting.
Your Character Might Be Betraying Readers If . . .
This week’s video cautions against having good characters turn bad just to provide an interesting plot twist.
The Biggest Problem With Trick Endings
This week’s video talks about the pitfalls of the always tempting twist endings.
Signs You’ve Chosen the Wrong Protagonist
This week’s video discusses the qualifications of a protagonist and what to do when minor characters try to take over.
The Most Annoying Type of Story Conflict
This week’s video talks about a type of conflict that works within the story, but which often causes more annoyance to readers than it’s worth.
Structuring Your Story’s Scenes, Pt. 4: Options for Conflict in a Scene
Conflict can come in a variety of flavors, but most can be sorted into five categories.
Use This Subplot to Bring Depth to Your Story
This week’s video suggests the value of an “emotional subplot” to bring instant depth to any character.
