Q: As far back as I can remember, I felt called to be a creative writer. But what do I do if the calling doesn’t pay the bills? Can I even call myself a real writer?  A: When it comes to writing of any type . . . it’s a dirty secret: nobody wants to talk […]

Q: Do you ever wish that you never started writing?  “I am a new author, with two books self-published to date. I have a good life, a supportive husband and children, but for some reason I’m not happy because all I think about is book sales and trying to make it big. I have never in my life […]

Do you know The Dos & Don’ts of Writing Compelling Dialogue?  In narrative, you can wax poetic about the setting sun. In dialogue, if you go on about the color of the sky, people are apt to find your writing pretentious. Why? Because readers will notice the WRITER in those scenes, not the characters. Good dialogue […]

ARE YOU MISTYPED? Many ENFJs and ESFJs on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator are mistyped or struggle to identify the differences between these related personality types outside stereotyped YouTube parodies and online quizzes that don’t take into account tertiary cognitive function. Too often, they assume an ENFJ is deep; an ESFJ paddles in the shallows.  I propose a better way […]

Question: Are book coaches and freelance editors a scam? No one used them a hundred years ago. Answer: It’s essential to understand the HISTORY of the publishing industry to understand how it has evolved in the 21st Century. Independent book coaches and professional editors with integrity (—unfortunately, shady folks exist within any industry—) did not […]

BOOK DEVELOPMENT: THE MINDSET PIECE  When we build your book together in #WRITTEN, The Writing Cycle’s 4-Month One-on-One Coaching Program, I first emphasize the importance of mindset work.  This is the piece many writers skip when they set out to go from concept to development. Of course, you need to be passionate about an idea. […]

It’s one thing to work through trauma with a trusted a therapist. It’s quite another to share your story with the world. The Writing Cycle has rounded up ten powerful quotes on healing trauma to offer insight and inspiration as you engage in writing your trauma narrative. Which resonates with your experience writing trauma? Would […]

Carol, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally? “The creative adult is the child who survived,” said author Ursula K. Le Guin. This has been a guiding light for my artistic evolution. As a writer, I’m obsessed with how artifacts, images, and language hoarded in family systems reveal—and hold the potential to heal—generational […]

As a young writer, I assumed everyone had a process similar to my own. It was only in an MFA that it dawned on me most writers do not work the way I do. This distinction increased starkly once outside an academic environment. Bestselling guides advocated following concrete rules, and, above all, chasing market trends. Community critique groups […]

Scottsdale author and editor Carol Test talks rejection, inspiration, and the writing life with VoyagePhoenix. Read about her current projects and learn more about The Writing Cycle’s services in this week’s Trailblazer series. “I love helping authors find their voice and connect with larger questions about the human experience their writing explores. After all, the world doesn’t […]