I walked out of my house this morning with my emotions tied up in knots. The kids were bickering, I was scolding, feelings were hurt– the morning was a disaster. By the time I had dropped them off at school, tears stung my eyes. In the silence of the car ride home, I began to sing softly to … Read More
writing
Changing School Supplies…and Writers’ Supplies
Have you noticed how the school supply lists have changed in recent years? School starts next week (in our region) and I always marvel at how different the lists are from when I was a kid. Paper, crayons, folders and scissors are still on the list. Glue sticks have replaced the paste. Remember paste? My kids don’t even know what … Read More
An Update on the Writing Process
Many friends have asked why I haven’t said much about my books lately. Part of that is intentional–now that I am working with an agent and am negotiating with publishing houses, I know professional eyes are watching. There’s nothing like knowing people are observing you to make you want to be (at least pretend to … Read More
Laptops, Lapdogs, Lapcats…
I am a goal setter. I make plans. I have dreams. I also have pets. Pets are natural plan interrupters. Goal-re-setters. My cats and foster puppy can’t seem to understand the concept of working on a laptop. They think laps are meant for them. Why do humans need a laptop when they have a perfectly … Read More
Crazy? Then You Just Might Be a Writer.
Writers are all crazy. We have invisible friends. We lie on a regular basis–and get paid for it (sometimes). We can bring ourselves to tears while writing imaginary scenes. We actually feel guilty when we have to write a scene in which a favorite character has to experience something horrible. Face it, crazy comes with the business. My … Read More
When Characters Lie
I’ve been burning a lot of midnight oil lately, in the name of research. Okay, that’s a lie–I’ve been watching a lot of TV. I have a new favorite show, Lie to Me, on FOX (and yes, I posted about this show last week, too). Thanks to Netflix, I’ve wasted away many hours catching up on the previous … Read More
The Devil is in the Details
Details enrich story. They help to create a story world in which your reader can dwell for the length of your book. They can also throw them out. A few days ago, I was watching an episode from the television series, Lie to Me (A big favorite of mine). A young girl had gone missing … Read More
Writing Fiction for Dummies by Randy Ingermanson–FREE!
For those budding writers out there, here is a deal you absolutely should NOT miss. I’ve been letting you know about freebies offered on Amazon for Kindle readers, and this is one of the best. Writing coach Randy Ingermanson (a.k.a. the “Snowflake Guy”) has put together some of his best writing tips in the book Writing … Read More
Self-portrait in Words
Yesterday was a tough writing day. I wrote less than 50 words. Several times. You see, I’ve been asked to craft an “author’s bio.” Why is it so hard to describe ourselves? It’s odd how I can pump out1000 words in a few hours if I’m writing fiction, but if you ask me to write … Read More
Titles that make you go, “Huh!”
Have you spotted any really great book titles lately? You know what I mean — the kind that stop you in your tracks and make you go, “Huh! Now THAT’S clever!” I was walking through our library’s young adult section (my son has now reached that unfortunate age — you know the book section where all … Read More