Tension headaches, tension in relationships, tense meetings, tense conversations — we all hate it. Right? Can tension be good? A tense fishing line means a good catch. I know my seldom-used sewing machine has a tension adjustment knob — I’m not sure what it does, but it must be important. Tension is not only good in story-writing — it … Read More
Today I will continue my series on Common Writing Mistakes Made by New Writers (Like me) with “Beginning with Chapter One.” If you want to catch up on the other posts (in no particular order), read Back Up the Dump Truck, Battling Backstory, Talking to Yourself, and Couch Potato Characters. Today’s common writing mistake is … Read More
Springtime in the Pacific Northwest is rollercoaster at its worst. Plants are dressing in their finery — apple and cherry blossoms, pink dogwoods, azaleas, rhodies, tulips, daffodils — you name it. At the same time, weeds and moss are rearing their ugly heads. (Does moss have a head?) Our Spring weather is insane. One moment its glorious sunshine and … Read More
Friday is here! Finally — right? Are you looking for a great way to relax this weekend? Try Mona Hodgson‘s new book, Two Brides Too Many. It’s a fun read about two Eastern girls who answer ads for mail order brides and arrive in Colorado only to find their expected husbands are missing. Finding their … Read More
Welcome back to my series: Common Mistakes Made By New Writers (Like Me). This is part four: Couch Potato Characters or Characters Who Never Move. Feel free to read back through previous posts to read about information dumps, battling backstory and characters who talk to themselves. It’s not necessary to read these posts in any particular … Read More
There will be no Friday Book Pick for this week, because I’ve been busy putting the last spit and polish on my manuscript before it heads out into the big, cruel world. Now that it’s ready to fly, I feel like taking a walk down memory lane. I hope these pictures bring you a smile or a … Read More
This is part three in my “Common Mistakes Made By New Writers (like me)” series. Part one discussed information dumps and part two talked about battling backstory. Feel free to check out those posts as well, but it is not necessary to read them in any paticular order. Today we will tackle another common problem: … Read More
Last week, I started a series about mistakes commonly made by new writers (like me). The first entry focused on “information dumps.” Today, I’m going to discuss a related topic — backstory. Every character has history and we try often try to share every detail of it in the first chapter. You must know that she was born on a stormy … Read More
We’re heading into a new weekend and I hope that some of you can find a few hours to pick up a new book. Don’t miss this new title, A Distant Melody, by debut author, Sarah Sundin. At the risk of sounding like a complete romantic sap, I have to tell you that am head over heels for this … Read More
Over the next few weeks, I am going to post about some of the common mistakes that new writers make and how you can avoid them in your writing. Please send me any writing questions that you have and maybe I can direct a post toward your area of interest. These are not in any paticular order of importance, … Read More