Keep it Simple S***. (Here you can put Stupid or Sister or Son or whatever word that would start with S and fit.) I remember hearing K.I.S.S. way back when I started writing. It fits with query letters. A query that sticks to the basics (is kept simple) works best. No need to brag about […] [ ... ]
I started entering and judging contests back in the 1980s. At that time the RITA was called the Golden Medallion, and the score sheets actually had points for various aspects of the book as well as space for comments. I remember my 1988 finalist, A Winning Combination, was marked down for a lack of conflict […] [ ... ]
I wish I’d written the Harry Potter books. I’d love to have the money J.K. Rowlings makes as well as the fame she’s achieved. I wish I could produce books as fast as James Patterson does. I wish patrons lined up around the block to buy my books, that my books were on the shelves of all […] [ ... ]
If not for my husband, I wouldn’t have a career in writing. Years ago, when I said, “I think I’d like to try writing a book,” he didn’t laugh, or tell me how few people ever succeed in getting a book published, or tell me I had more than enough to do with two preschoolers, […] [ ... ]
I’m a groupaholic. If there’s a group out there—physically or on-line—I join. Well, maybe not all groups, but if it’s a gathering of writers that even remotely write or talk about what I write, chances are I’m a member. This is good and bad. I learn from others, enjoy the camaraderie of being with fellow […] [ ... ]
I’m constantly amazed when I hear writers whom I consider highly successful express their fears. Fear that they’ll never write another book as great as the one that won an award, or made the NY Times list, or just sold a million/trillion copies. Fear that they’ll be dropped by their publisher. Fear that the critics […] [ ... ]
Back at the turn of the century (the 1900s to the 2000s) I often said, “If they get the cost of the readers down, e-books are going to take off.” I don’t know if anyone listened to me. Others, obviously, had the same thought. The readers didn’t really get cheaper, not down to the level […] [ ... ]
“Don’t kill the dog.” When I first started writing romances, I took a story I’d been working on to a writers’ meeting and read a portion. In that section, I had a dog die. Oh, my. The reaction was immediate and unanimous. “Don’t kill the dog.” I obviously changed that scene. Since then I’ve seen […] [ ... ]
“Could you read my story and tell me what you think?” Unless I know the writer well, know he or she truly wants to hear what I think, I dread hearing those words. Too often the person asking this question doesn’t really want to hear what I think. He or she wants to hear how […] [ ... ]
Today’s blog, to continue the A-to-Z Blogging Challenge, will be about borrowing: borrowing ideas, borrowing styles of writing, borrowing ways to describe a scene. Borrowing, not copying. Let’s face it, we all borrow. They say there are no new plots. (How many is debated.) Whatever we come up with has been written before. It’s one’s […] [ ... ]
I have accepted the A-to-Z Blogging Challenge. Every day in April (except Sundays) I will be posting a blog, starting with A today, April 1st, and ending with Z on April 30th. Other writers have accepted the challenge. I hope you’ll visit a few of those blogs, too. Now, for A. When I wrote The Crows, I […] [ ... ]
I’m excitedly awaiting the arrival of my author copies of A Killer Past. They are in the mail and should arrive the first of next week. (Maybe even Friday or Saturday of this week.) This will be the first time I’ve seen the story in book form. These hardcover copies are from the ones that […] [ ... ]
Often writers hear, “You should write every day.” Good advice…maybe. Writing is an out pouring of creativity. If a writer writers every day, when can the “creative well” be replenished? Are there times when a writer shouldn’t write? Julia Cameron in The Artist’s Way suggests going a week without reading: no books, no newspapers, no […] [ ... ]
First I’d like to apologize to anyone who received an email from “me” saying something about checking out an Oprah site. No, I didn’t send that. Although I thought I had decent virus and malware protection, evidently I didn’t. I think that message went out about the same time my computer went crazy. Last Thursday my […] [ ... ]
On Sunday, March 8th, I’ll be at the North Port (Florida) Public Library from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at a Book Fair being put on by the Friends of the North Port Public Library. (http://www.folofnorthport.com/) This will be my first year to participate in this book fair. I decided to attend for several reasons. […] [ ... ]
I’m considered by most to be a Type-A personality, anal retentive, and organized. Well, not organized in the sense of being neat and tidy, but when my husband wants information about the cars, his boat, a bank account, etc., I have a file for it and I know where the file is. I make lists. […] [ ... ]
Today my good friend and fellow writer, Joe Novara, is my guest blogger as I enjoy a visit from my daughter. A few weeks ago Joe mentioned how he’d been learning some new ways of expressing ideas from reading other writers. That led to the blog I posted last Wednesday: Read to Learn. I asked […] [ ... ]
Most writers have heard, “Write what you love to read.” Good advice since writing in the same genre as you read gives you the advantage of learning the standard, accepted form for that genre. When I was writing romances, I read hundreds of romance novels. In fact, when I started submitting romance stories, an editor sent […] [ ... ]
Last week I had a writer friend tell me an agent had requested the first 50 pages of her completed time-travel romance. The writer asked me to look at her cover letter, which I did. The problem was, the letter she sent me to look at was a query letter, not a cover letter. When […] [ ... ]
What many readers and new writers don’t realize is how many decisions are made before that first word is written. 1. Who is the main character (MC)? I may have a vague idea about the character, but soon I need to “get to know” this person. a. Name, sex, age, physical description, etc. b. What […] [ ... ]