History That Never Was

Home of Dawn Vogel: Writer, Historian, Geek

Developmental Editing at WriteHive Online Conference

| July 29, 2024

I moderated one panel at the WriteHive Online Conference earlier this year, which was “Developmental Editing Basics for Aspiring Editors.” Though I’ve been an editor for 20+ years, I’ve mainly focused on copyediting and proofreading, so getting to listen to a bunch of talented developmental editors talk about the tips and tricks they use, as […]

Historians on History at WriteHive Online Conference

| July 8, 2024

Another panel I was on at the WriteHive Online Conference was Historians on History. With a couple of other historians, archivists, and writers of historical fiction, we talked about doing research for our historical stories and how to avoid certain pitfalls of research rabbit holes (not always successful) and how to deal with difficult history […]

Short Stories at WriteHive Online Conference

| June 17, 2024

During the WriteHive Online Conference this a couple of weekends ago, I was one of the panelists for “Making Each Word Count: A Short Story Master Class.” We had a great conversation about writing and publishing short fiction, from our individual perspectives and offering advice to authors who are interested in that length. The other […]

WriteHive 2024 Online Conference Schedule!

| May 27, 2024

The schedule for this year’s WriteHive Online Conference is now available here! The event runs Friday, June 7 through Sunday, June 9. All of the times on the schedule are Eastern, so you may have to calculate your own time zone. I’ll be speaking on two panels and moderating a third panel. On Friday, June […]

Write Hive 2024 Panelist!

| April 15, 2024

This month in June, I’m going to be speaking on panels at the WriteHive Conference, which is a free, online conference for writers! The panels I’m speaking on are about short stories and history in fiction, and I’ll be moderating a panel on developmental editing. I’m very much looking forward to discussing these things with […]

WriteHive Panel: Believable Technology in Fiction

| November 13, 2023

One of the panels I watched from the WriteHive online conference was Believable Technology in Fiction. It was a great panel about how to make technology work in your fiction, most often but not always science fiction. The panelists started by talking about technology on the whole, defining it as something that solves a problem […]

WriteHive Panel: Breadcrumbs in Fiction: Building a Mystery

| October 30, 2023

One of the panels I watched from the WriteHive online conference was Breadcrumbs in Fiction: Building a Mystery. Having written a mystery novella, and wanting to write more in that series, I was particularly interested in learning how to do it better! The panelists talked about the differences between breadcrumbs, red herrings, and facts, and […]

WriteHive Panel: How to Subvert Tropes

| October 16, 2023

One of the WriteHive online conference panels I watched was How to Subvert Tropes. This panel talked about what tropes are, when they become cliches, and how to then twist those tropes to make them fresh again. The panel started out by talking about how tropes are the building blocks of stories that establish trust […]

WriteHive Panel: How to Self-Edit Like a Developmental Editor

| October 2, 2023

One of the WriteHive online conference panels I watched was a presentation on How to Self-Edit Like a Developmental Editor. Even though I am an editor, developmental editing is one of the places where I’d like to increase my skills, and getting some tips and tricks that can help me practice these things on my […]

WriteHive Panel: Seasons in Worldbuilding

| September 18, 2023

One of the WriteHive online conference panels I watched was Seasons in Worldbuilding, which was an interesting look at how you can use seasons as part of your writing. Even outside of the part they play in worldbuilding, seasons can be used evoke emotions related to that season. In some writing, the season and/or the […]