Letting Taylor Swift’s Genius Guide Holiday Choices

Vintage Vroman’s Bookstore Chirstmas Stars (Pasadena, CA.)

BloomingRed or see the whole series here. The series also includes chapbooks for Women’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and, yep...Christmas.

Flashbacks and Information Dump

Contributed by Karen Cioffi, Children's Writer

If you're a storyteller, you face a constant balancing act: how to convey essential background information without disrupting the flow of the narrative.

Flashbacks and information dumps are two commonly used writing techniques, each with its own set of benefits and pitfalls. And knowing when to use each is essential for maintaining reader engagement and story coherence.

But how do you tell the difference between them?

FLASHBACKS

When incorporated ‘the right way,’ flashbacks can provide valuable insights into a character's past experiences, motivations, and emotions. They allow readers to delve deeper into the story, bringing a broader understanding of the characters and plot.

However, mishandled flashbacks can disrupt the story's rhythm, pulling readers out of the present action and causing confusion.

INFORMATION DUMP

Compared to flashbacks, information dump entails the straightforward delivery of background information, often through exposition or dialogue.

While these dumps can effectively convey necessary details, they run the risk of overwhelming readers with an excessive amount of information all at once. This can lead to boredom or detachment from the story, as readers may feel immersed in facts rather than the narrative.

Another risk of this writing technique is that the information being presented can feel forced, as if it’s there just to inform the reader of something the author doesn’t think the reader will get otherwise.

Don’t underestimate your reader.

TWO STRATEGIES TO USE TO DETERMINE WHICH IS WHICH

So, how can authors determine whether a particular narrative element is a flashback or an information dump, and how can they integrate these techniques seamlessly into their storytelling?

1. First and foremost, it's essential to consider the purpose of the narrative element in question.

Is it primarily serving to convey a character's backstory and emotional journey, or is it purely for an explanation aimed at providing essential plot details?

If it’s to enhance the emotional journey, it's likely a flashback. If it’s to provide an explanation, it may be an information dump.

2. Next, it’s wise to pay attention to the timing and pacing of the narrative.

Flashbacks are most effective when strategically woven into the story at moments that enhance tension, deepen characterization, or clarify current events.

On the flip side, information dumps should be introduced sparingly and woven organically into the narrative flow to avoid overwhelming readers.

HOW TO USE THESE TECHNIQUES

Flashbacks

Crafting seamless transitions between the present story and flashback sequences is crucial for maintaining reader engagement.

Establish clear cues:
Using cues, such as changes in tense or formatting, to signal the shift in time and place will ease the reader into the transition. In addition, ensure that each flashback serves a specific narrative purpose and advances the story in some meaningful way rather than merely providing background filler.

Dialogue:
Using dialogue, including internal dialogue, can also be a powerful tool for conveying backstory and world-building without resorting to information dumps.

Authors can avoid the pitfalls of excessive explanations by allowing characters to reveal key details through natural conversation, keeping readers invested in the story.

Where to Place Them for the Best Effect:
The timing of flashbacks is vital. Introduce them at moments of heightened tension or emotional significance, where they can provide context or insight into the character's current predicament.

Avoid interrupting the flow of action with unnecessary detours into the past.

Information Dump

Balancing information download:
Information dumps, while sometimes necessary, should be approached with caution. Rather than dumping a large amount of information all at once, sprinkle essential details throughout the story in digestible bites.

Use a mix of exposition, dialogue, and sensory details to weave background information into the story, ensuring that it feels natural and fundamental to the story's progression.

Show, Don't Tell:
Instead of relying solely on exposition to convey backstory, strive to show key events through vivid imagery and sensory details.

Allow readers to experience past events alongside the characters. By engaging the reader's imagination, you can avoid the pitfalls of dry exposition and create a deeper reading experience.

Dialogue as Exposition:
Dialogue can be a powerful tool for conveying information in a natural manner.

Use character interactions to reveal backstory, world-building details, and character relationships. This will allow readers to gather essential information through the subtleties of conversation.

By incorporating exposition into dialogue exchanges, you can maintain story momentum while deepening characterization and moving the plot forward. Just don’t overdo it.

SUMMING IT UP

The bottom line: to get a handle on balancing flashbacks and information dumps, you’ll need to pay careful attention to narrative structure, pacing, and characterization.

By carefully using these techniques and prioritizing the needs of the story and its characters, you can create a compelling story that holds the reader from beginning to end.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Karen Cioffi is an award-winning children’s author, working ghostwriter, rewriter, and coach (picture and chapter books). If you need help with your story, visit Writing for Children with Karen Cioffi.

You can check out Karen’s books HERE.

You can connect with Karen at:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karencioffiventrice
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kcioffiventrice/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karencioffikidlitghostwriter/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KarenCV

Writers: Beware of Vanity Presses

Abi and her friend, Jess, have only days
to help a ghost who haunts the marsh
and old farmhouse in Pine Hill, Virginia.
Illustration of Abi is by Danika Corrall,
who illustrated Secret in the Mist.

By Linda Wilson -- Follow me on Facebook

A vanity press is a publishing company that charges authors to publish their work. Vanity presses profit from fees authors pay for their services. Legitimate publishing companies make their money from book sales.

Empty Promises to Unassuming Authors

Vanity presses have a bad reputation, largely earned by many companies who promise authors the moon and often fail to deliver, often in significant ways.

I tell this cautionary tale for two reasons. One is that a friend of mine fell prey to a vanity press just last week. She paid a nominal fee for them to publish a picture book written by her husband. It is a work in progress.

The online headline for my friend’s company, we’ll call Company A, goes something like this:

Ready to Share Your Story with the World?

Book your Free Consultation today!

We focus on:

Turning your book into a successful career through a range of services designed to support authors from manuscript to marketplace.

We offer:

Ghostwriting Book marketing

Editing Branding

Sounds promising, doesn’t it? But what if this vanity press has additional or hidden charges? And they don’t follow through with their promises? Authors who have signed up with vanity presses have been known to wait months and months for their book to be published, if it gets published at all. So far, the verdict is out on how my friend and her husband will fare. They’re waiting with bated breath to see the results.

That brings me to the other reason I’m telling this cautionary tale. Moi. I signed with a vanity press for my first book more than five years ago. I was thrilled. I’d found my publisher—for life. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

My Own Cautionary Tale

I lived in a small town when I signed up with my vanity press, we’ll call Company B. I had just begun writing books for children after writing articles and stories for newspapers and magazines. There were no resources in my town for children’s authors at the time: no critique groups; no Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, SCBWI, meetings; no network of other children’s authors and illustrators. I looked online and, like my friend, signed up immediately with Company B.

Unfortunately for me, I paid thousands of dollars thinking I was making an investment in my future as a children’s author with a stellar company. I need to give credit where credit is due, however. I did benefit from the services Company B offered:

A tutorial program for new authors
Professional editing of my book
An illustrator for my book

I learned a lot from the tutorial program. Later, I discovered that the editor and illustrator were not inhouse but had been contracted out. Luckily, they did topnotch work.

My book was ready. The next keystroke on my computer was to obtain the two files—the text and the illustrations—and load them onto Amazon for publishing. But somehow, the files were unattainable. Emails to my rep went unanswered.

While in the throes of wondering what to do, I happened to be reading 10 Publishing Myths: Insights Every Author Needs to Succeed, by W. Terry Whalin. My eyes popped out when I got to page three. Whalin writes:

Use Google to see what is online. Type: Publisher name + complaint then read a page or two of the entries. Are the complaints new or old? Are there many entries or few?

Whalin goes on to give sage advice for authors to avoid myths like the one I fell for.

My answer came as soon as I typed in Company B + Complaints. The internet was flooded with complaints. Long story short: one of the owners had created a Ponzi-type scheme. He’d collected the money from the authors but never paid any royalties. The company was shutting down, going out of business.

I immediately wrote to the rep I worked with and requested my files. I’d caught her just days before she was leaving for good. She sent me my files. Many authors never received their files. Some of the authors began a website that exists to this day. I found out: I was one of the lucky ones.

By being in touch on the website, we hired an attorney who lived in the same town as the company. He charged a nominal fee. Many of us bought in, including me. He began a class action lawsuit. Nothing ever came of it for me. I’m not sure about the others but last I heard this previous Company B owner had absconded to live on an island. It sounds ridiculous, but as far as I know that’s what happened.

That’s actually how I became a self-published author. Finally, using the files sent to me by Company B, I self-published my first children’s book, Secret in the Stars: An Abi Wunder Mystery.

Here is a partial list of vanity press companies to avoid. Please note that I’ve looked up each one on Google. They do exist and can be found online:

Page Publishing
Xlibris Publishing
Austin Macauley Publishers
Christian Faith Publishing
American Star Books
Author Solutions
iUniverse
Olympia Publishing
Dorrance Publishing
Newman Spring Publishing
Balboa Press
Pegasus Elliot Mackenzie ltd
Abbott Press
Partridge Publishing
Palibrio or Author House

Red Flags to Watch Out For

Charging large up-front fees
Flattery and pressure
Lack of transparency
Poor quality work
Requirement to purchase bulk copies
Verbal promises not in written contract
Fake affiliations
Promise to distribute your book, when in reality, your book is only added to a list

Bottom Line

Research carefully. Trust your gut.

Sources:

Visit Danika Corrall, the designer of my website and illustrator of Secret in the Mist:

https://www.danikacorrall.com

Article sources:

https://reedsy.com/blog/scams-and-publishing-companies-to-avoid/

https://reedsy.com/blog/vanity-press/

Author of many books, including 10 Publishing Myths: Insights Every Author Needs to Succeed, can be found here:

https://terrywhalin.com

Please note: Go to Terry Whalin's website and add your name to receive a PDF of an extra chapter not included in the book: The 11th Publishing Myth.

Secret in the Mist,
the second book in the
Abi Wunder Mystery trilogy,
will be published early
next year and will be
available for purchase
on Amazon.

Linda's two new releases are Botas Altas, the Spanish version of Tall Boots, translated by Graciela Moreno and Adriana Botero, and Cuna en la Naturaleza, the Spanish version of Cradle in the Wild, translated by Adriana Botero. Both books have received awards. Visit Linda at https://bit.ly/3AOM98L.

6 Subtle Ways Writers Lose Creative Alignment

by Suzanne Lieurance

Feeling scattered, unfocused, or uninspired lately? It might not be a lack of motivation—it might be creative clutter.

Clutter isn’t always physical. Sometimes it’s energetic. Mental. Emotional. Sometimes, it’s the sheer weight of “should” you’ve collected without realizing it.

Here are six subtle ways writers lose alignment—and what you can do to clear space and reconnect with what truly matters.

1. Saying Yes to Every Good Idea

Not every good idea is your idea.

When you chase every prompt, project, or opportunity that sounds promising, you risk scattering your energy. Writing becomes a game of catching up instead of tuning in.

Try this instead: Ask, “Does this align with the kind of writing life I want to build?” If not, let it go.

2. Holding Onto Projects You’ve Outgrown

Some writing projects are meant to stretch you. Others were meant to be steppingstones—not lifelong commitments.

If you’re clinging to something just because you’ve already invested time in it, it might be time to lovingly release it.

Try this instead: Create a “creative compost” folder. Retire projects there without guilt. They’ve served their purpose.

3. Trying to Write Like Someone Else

You follow the advice. You mimic the structure. You try to speak in their voice. But no matter what you do, it doesn’t feel quite right.

That’s your voice asking to come back.

Try this instead: Write one messy page in your most unfiltered, unpolished voice. See what comes up when no one’s watching.

4. Working Through Exhaustion

Burnout doesn’t always look dramatic. Sometimes it looks like showing up day after day, just slightly detached. You’re going through the motions, but the joy is gone.

Try this instead: Build in micro-pauses. Even one full day off per week—completely unplugged from writing—can create space for inspiration to return.

5. Comparing Instead of Connecting

Scrolling through what other writers are doing can inspire you—or it can drain you. If you leave social media feeling “behind,” your energy is out of sync.

Try this instead: Follow writers who make you feel grounded, not pressured. And stay off comparison platforms during your writing hours.

6. Forgetting Why You Started

When was the last time you asked yourself why you write? What’s your deeper why—beneath the metrics, goals, and deadlines?

When you forget the purpose, the process starts to wobble.

Try this instead: Write down 3 reasons you still write. Keep them visible. Let them be your compass on the hard days.

You Don’t Need a Total Reset

You just need to clear a little space.

Creative alignment doesn’t come from doing more. It comes from making room for what’s already within you—and removing what’s been blocking the signal.

So, take stock. Let go where you can. Recenter where you need to. Root back into your version of writing.

Then keep going.

And for more writing tips delivered to your emailbox every weekday morning, get your free subscription to The Morning Nudge.

Suzanne Lieurance is an award-winning author with over 40 published books and a Law of Attraction coach for writers.

Listen to her weekly podcast for writers on Youtube.

You Can Reach Your Writing Goals

By Terry Whalin (@terrywhalin)

The word “instant” characterizes our world. Addicted to their email, many people have switched to a communication device which is much more than a cell phone but includes email, so they are in constant touch with their work. These writers are committed to answering every single email that comes into their mailbox.

I belong to several online groups and in one group, one writer answers every single question (whether she knows anything about it or not) and sends her response out to more than 700 writers. To me, it has become an annoyance and when I see her name in my box, I reach for the delete key and don’t even bother to open it. Other writers worry if I don’t respond to their emails within 24 hours.

How much time do you have during a single day to move toward accomplishing your publishing dreams? Are you planning and using your time wisely so you can move step-by-step toward the fulfillment of those dreams? There is an old saying in business: “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Or another version says, “If you fail to plan, you will be sure to hit it.”

Consider These Time Wasters

Whether you have several hours a day or a full day to accomplish your writing goals, it is easy to fill those hours with “good things” that do not help you move toward the fulfillment of those goals. Let’s examine some of the time wasters that can consume our time to write:

1. Email. It is easy to join various online groups and fill your email box with the communication from these groups. Without careful monitoring of your time, you can easily spend your day opening, reading, and answering these emails.

2. Regular mail. Do you receive a high volume of mail from various institutions? What about magazines, newsletters, and other publications?

3. Telephone calls. How much time do you spend on the phone chatting with friends and consuming the day with idle conversation.

4. Following the news. Until a few years ago, the release of world or national news came in cycles. Now we get a steady stream over our phone or computer or other media device. In the middle of such noise, where do you find time to dream about publishing and succeed in those efforts?

5. Television. According to USA Today, the average person watches more than four hours of television each day. If you fall into this category, it is little wonder you are not accomplishing your publishing dreams. What are you willing to give up in order to reach your goals?

6. Family interruptions. If you have small children at home or a pet or an elderly parent, this could be a potential obstacle to your writing.

7. Volunteer obligations.

8. Writing opportunities. You may be surprised that I would include this aspect in the time waster category. When you begin to have your writing published, however, there are many “opportunities” for you, especially people who want you to write something without payment. Do these opportunities fall into helping you meet your long-term goals?

Have a Consistent Short-Term Goal

I’ve interviewed more than 150 best-selling authors about the elements of their success. They consistently state their commitment to a single goal and repeatedly focusing on this goal.

Several years ago, I had breakfast with Bill Myers, whose books and videos have sold more than eight million copies. I knew Bill was prolific, so I asked for the secret of how he has accomplished the volume of writing year after year.

Bill held up his hand with his fingers spread apart and said, “Five.”

I didn’t understand so I asked, “Five what?”

“Five pages every day,” he said. Even if Bill is attending a convention or a conference, he is committed to this goal of writing five pages a day—25 pages a week. “If I have time, I like to rewrite each page four times because I’m still learning my craft.” This constant commitment to a short-term goal and meeting this goal day after day is one of the keys to accomplishing your writing goals.

Another person with a similar goal is novelist Bodie Thoene who has more than 45 million novels in print and has won eight Gold Medallion Awards for her writing. Many people don’t realize Bodie is severely dyslexic and does no pleasure reading, yet she writes 650 page-turning novels. Like Bill Myers, Bodie also maintains a consistent goal of five pages a day. She sits at her computer hitting the keys with two fingers and may work until 10 p.m. to reach her goal—at least five finished pages. “No little elves come out of my closet to write 650 manuscript pages,” Bodie said. “Some mornings I don’t feel like writing, but I do it out of obedience to God. The opening scenes are always the hardest and can take as long as 10 or 20 pages,” Bodie explains. With the opening pages behind her, the writing accelerates until she often completes 20 or more pages a day. Then her husband Brock reads the pages aloud to Bodie and they discuss any rough spots. “If I have to rewrite, I do it on the spot and never look at the pages again,” she said.

Each of these writers accomplishes their short-term writing goal and then uses this benchmark to build and reach a larger long-term goal. It is a strategy you can also use to reach your publishing goals.

Tweetable:

Writers need a strategy and plan to accomplish their writing goals. In this article, this prolific author and editor gives some examples and ideas for every writer. (ClickToTweet)

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in California. Get Terry’s newsletter and a 87-page FREE ebook packed with writing insights. Just follow this link to subscribe. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and Billy Graham. Get Terry’s recent book, 10 Publishing Myths for only $10, free shipping and bonuses worth over $200. To help writers catch the attention of editors and agents, Terry wrote his bestselling Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn .

The Magic of Words as Opportunity

Deadlines and Other Powerful Words

Opportunity Writ Large…Again

By Carolyn Howard-Johnson, multi award-winning author of the
HowToDoItFrugally Series of Books for Writers

Deadlines.

I’m not going to give you advice on meeting deadline because I’m in the middle of a booklet for my HowToDoItFrugally Series when I should be nearing the end. I’ve always believed in leaving early for social occasions, and to catch planes. And I’ve never had trouble with deadlines before. Now—suddenly—I’m feeling…inadequate and a little fearful of mentioning the word.

So here I am facing my November deadline for Writers on the Move. I just, well…sorta stole a little segment from the booklet I’m writing to share with subscribers and visitors to Karen Cioffi’s blog as well as her talented slate of regular contributors.

It’s the story of how I came to write a booklet I’m working on. It’s little about deadlines, too, I guess. You’ll have to read between the lines.

Anthropologists tell us we humans have been storytellers since we first gathered around fires for warmth and companionship, long before we entertained the idea of writing. Stories were our entertainment. It’s also how we learned the easy way—from others’ experiences—rather than from our own shortcomings, our own seemingly insurmountable challenges, and our own oopsies. Having said that, when we do learn the hard way, sharing helps us see the value of applying humor to ourselves.

In important moments of working with my first editor, I found myself using the words saying or adage and immediately felt ill-at-ease about my vocabulary skills. I eventually acquired the more acceptable all-purpose word, apothegm when one was suggested in an editing class I was teaching and thereby expected to know about such things. It is somehow both more specific and more adaptable than sayings…and, yes, less humiliating. But it still didn’t let me bore down on the specifics I needed to communicated with editors--nor for my classes and the new book I was writing to use as a text in a class on marketing books. There were available books and texts galore out there but nothing that included public relations for authors, or promotional ideas or getting media attention for books.

In the meantime, apothegms were leading me to all kinds of synonyms with slightly different meanings. They included more precise as well as well as subliminal interpretations for each:

§ mottoes and catchphrases might suggest an unwanted commercialism.

§ proverbs imply a biblical passage; words of wisdom also connote religiosity or a philosophy that might or might not be appropriate for the title in consideration.

§ platitude smacks of cliché, something most of us work mightily to avoid.

§ maxims tend to be about rules of conduct. If an editor suggests you use them to introduce chapters and your book isn’t a “Miss Manners” book, explore the kind of apothegms they had in mind before spending good writing time researching quotations that probably won’t suit the tone of your book.

§ axiom, dictum, adage, and even the word sayings, itself!

As I started thinking of them as synonyms, it occurred to me to use a variety of the ones I was runningacross at the beginning of each chapter and as I found them, the book started feeling like a book rather than a collection of essays. When I couldn’t find what I needed, I started writing some myself. It felt like magic. Earlier this month, Terry Whalin published an article on this blog about grabbing down opportunity when it appears to you, and it occurred to me that was a bit of related magic. Sometimes we don’t recognize opportunity when it comes and perches itself on the bridge of our noses. The article made me realize that one simple word like apothegms isone of those opportune moments--one I nearly missed.

Soon I realized that very few authors use these, ahem!…sayings to make a book work as a full book and that maybe if I wrote a short book of vocabulary words related to the needs of authors, the content could help them apply this technique to their books. Different words might work differently for them, but each could be an opportunity for one of my fellows out there.

I had found a way to make the interior design that would make my book more interesting than a theme paper. It wasn’t a new idea, by any means. But it had become an opportunity that kept growing.

I had to self-publish because I was on deadline for my first class that fall. I started introducing each chapter with an apothegm or one of its semi-synonyms, depending on the topic of the chapter. One opportunity kept leading to others. Thinking of apothegms as opportunity, it’s a wonder they haven’t become an essential technique combined with the merest suggestion of interior design in seminars and presentations at writing conferences! (If you are interested in reading Terry’s article, leave a comment at the end of this article and Terry, Karen, or I will send you the permalink a to make it easier for you to access!)

But back to my story. This one “accidental” piece of knowledge worked in favor of my flagship book, my UCLA Writers’ Department students, and is still making itself useful for me nearly three decades later. If you’re familiar with my how-to books for writers, you’ve probably already run across the motto or tagline I came up with early in the pursuit of clarity to replace my old sayings habit:

“Careers that are not fed die as readily
as any living organism given no sustenance."
~ CHJ

I still try to find somewhere to slip that one into all my how-to books for writers and promotional material. But it’s limited. It only works when I want to convince authors that they’ll need a “to know more about a lot of things they never suspected they’d need or wanted desperately to avoid.” It’s also an example of how the work you put into apothegms for one book might be recycled to benefit many books—even many promotional projects like handouts.

And here’s the icing on the cake. This (unfinished!) book has lead to another promotion I haven’t tried before. WinningWriters.com will be giving it as a gift to all those who enter their 2025 #NorthStreetBookPrize contest. If I’m lucky the contest entrants will tell others about it. Opportunity meeting opportunity. Speaking of opportunity! I mustn’t forget to add WinningWriters’ clever pre-promotional idea to the next edition of my The Frugal Book Promoter. That would be its fourth edition. It seems a single word has more power than even I who love words could have imagined.

PS: Once finished, this booklet full of writer-related words, each a powerful opportunity, will be available from Modern History Press early in 2026.

MORE ABOUT TODAY’S WRITERS’-ON-THE-MOVE BLOG CONTRIBUTOR

Badge created by Carolyn Wilhelm for the HowToDoItFrugally Series of Books

Howard-Johnson is the recipient of the California Legislature’s Woman of the Year in Arts and Entertainment Award, and her community’s Character and Ethics award for her work promoting tolerance with her writing. She was also named to Pasadena Weekly’s list of “Fourteen San Gabriel Valley women who make life happen” and was given her community’s Diamond Award for Achievement in the Arts. Carolyn writes nonfiction for writers, poetry, and fiction and has studied writing at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom; Herzen University in St. Petersburg, Russia; and Charles University, Prague. J. She is especially thankful to Karen Cioffi for letting her share stories like this with her #WritersontheMove audience.

Writers On The Move

Letting Taylor Swift’s Genius Guide Holiday Choices

Flashbacks and Information Dump

Writers: Beware of Vanity Presses

6 Subtle Ways Writers Lose Creative Alignment

You Can Reach Your Writing Goals

The Magic of Words as Opportunity

Letting Taylor Swift’s Genius Guide Holiday Choices

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