In this recent article from the UK, one in five parents has scrapped traditional fairy tales in favor of kinder, gentler versions. While we've long been used to Little Red Riding Hood hiding from the wolf with her grandmother in the closet (rather than being eaten and then cut out of the wolf's stomach by [...]We all know that it's now mandatory that writers do the lion's share of their marketing, regardless of how they get published. We also know that social networking is one of the easiest, and cheapest, ways to get the word out. But how much time do we really need to spend on blogging, Facebook, Twitter, [...]Throughout history writers have used archetypes to craft characters. Archetypes are broad character outlines that explain general behaviors and motivations of particular personalities. They're universal and easily understood. The Hero, the Martyr, the Sage, and the Warrior are archetypes that appear in many classic stories from around the world. While you don't want to base [...]