COVID hit our house hard earlier this month, and after nearly 3 weeks of acute symptoms, I’m finally coming out of it. As it’s literally the last day of September, it feels like I lost a month, but such is life.

Great stories must balance action and reflection. Action drives excitement, while reflection adds depth, and both are essential.

Research is a key to authenticity. It allows us to create worlds that feel real, characters that feel like people we could know, and plots that make sense.

While writing might start as a solitary pursuit, it’s the input, critique, and support from others that help shape our work into something truly remarkable.

While writing is primarily a solitary endeavor, preparing work for publication is not.

Whether you choose to make it something overt and explicitly stated, or you opt for a subtler approach, symbolism might be what takes your writing to the next level.