Family Invasion
My family has come to Florida for sunshine and warmth. My diet is out the window, along with my writing, but it’s fun seeing everyone. No blog this week. [ ... ]
Take a Walk/Write a Book
As some of you know, I’m trying to lose weight. I’ve lost a little, but it’s a slow process (we go out to eat way too much here in Florida), so I’ve started taking walks with my husband on the days I don’t go to yoga class. Today I had a rough time convincing myself […] [ ... ]
Further or Farther?
I’ve always thought I knew the difference between further and farther. You could further a discussion or further a career, but you had to go farther if you wanted to get anywhere. That’s what I thought, but I’ve heard and seen the two used almost interchangeably, not only with new writers, but also with seasoned […] [ ... ]
Back up, Back up!
I’m sitting in front of a time bomb. No, not a real bomb, but I can practically hear it ticking away. I’m talking about my computer. It’s not that old, but almost from the day I purchased it, that imaginary bomb has been ticking away. I first realized there might be a problem when the […] [ ... ]
Are We There Yet?
Are we there yet? We’ve heard that question from our kids and sometimes from our spouse. Whenever I teach a class on writing, I hear a similar question: How do you know when you’re finished? What the writer is asking is how do you know when the story you’ve written is the best it can […] [ ... ]
SOS-All you needed to know about writing/editing/publishing a book
The SOS stands for Sleuthfest on Saturday which I attended last Saturday. First of all, it was close by, just a little more than 20 miles away. Second, some of my writer friends were speaking. Two good reasons to go. I arrived at the Hyatt Regency in Sarasota, Florida a little after 8:00 a.m., picked […] [ ... ]
Are You Listening?
I go to the pool to use the hot tub for my back and to listen to people talk. I admire writers who give their characters distinctive voices. Word usage, sentence structure, even the tempo of the speech can distinguish one character from another without the addition of dialogue tags or mentioning their names. Since […] [ ... ]
Love is Murder
Others have given summaries of the LIM conference held last weekend (Feb. 1-3) in Chicago, so I’ll just touch on a few points. If you’re on Facebook, do a search for the Love is Murder page. 245 pictures were posted covering the three-day conference. Pictures do tell a story. On Friday, there were Master Classes […] [ ... ]
Heading North
Thursday a cold front will hit the area where I spend my winters. That means the temperature is expected to drop from 80 degrees to the high 60s. Brrrrr. Right? Wrong, of course. So what am I doing tomorrow? I’m getting on a plane and heading north to Chicago where it truly will be cold. […] [ ... ]
Some days…
This hasn’t been one of my better days. I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night. I know it’s not as cold here in Florida as it is up north, but the temperature still dropped to 45 degrees last night and my husband (who’s always complaining he’s too hot) left the bedroom window open. […] [ ... ]
Losing Weight: Ways to trim fat in a ms and on me.
I’m on a diet. I’ve simply gained too much weight for my legs, hips, and back to handle without complaining. Often, especially with a rough draft, the same could be said: “It’s carrying too much weight (“fat”).” With both my writing and me the remedy is to trim the fat. For me it’s get rid of […] [ ... ]
RETREAT…
What are you doing the weekend of April 19th-21st? Need a place to go to stimulate your creative juices? Want to spend time with a terrific writer? How about a chance to mingle with lots of great writers? THEN DO I HAVE THE PLACE FOR YOU. This year’s RETREAT FROM HARSH REALITY will be held the […] [ ... ]
Reading
This month I’m reading two very different books for the book clubs I belong to. One is Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, the other is How We Made Our First Million on Kindle. Actually, I haven’t started Hotel. That group meets at a later date than the one discussing How We Made […] [ ... ]
Changing Locations
Sorry, no blog today. I’ve spent all day trying to figure out what I’ll need in Florida over the next 4 months. My bedroom is a mess. Clothes, computer files, art supplies, and suitcases all over the place. Tomorrow I need to make sure I have all the computer data I need saved on my […] [ ... ]
Priorities
I’m down to the final rush; 5 days until Christmas. Gifts have been purchased and wrapped, cards sent, and now it’s just the parties and family gatherings to attend. However, because I’ve been busy getting ready for Christmas, I’ve had to ignore my writing: I haven’t had time to get AS THE CROW FLIES uploaded […] [ ... ]
Did You Met Your Goals?
Yesterday I met with the Second Tuesday group, and I asked one of the members what I should blog about today. (I’m always asking her, and she always comes up with great ideas.) Since the group had just talked about goals for 2013, she suggested that topic, but as I was driving home from the […] [ ... ]
While the Husband’s Away
My husband has been gone for 12 days. I have missed him, but I’ve also enjoyed being able to work any time I wanted, watch girlie movies, eat whenever and whatever I wanted, and make a mess of the condo. And boy, have I made a mess. The dining table is covered with my laptop, […] [ ... ]
Uploading (Not) an e-book
My goal Tuesday was to get a book that was originally published by Bantam’s Loveswept up on Amazon as an e-book. This shouldn’t have been a difficult task. Last winter I’d retyped the story, following the formatting guidelines for the Kindle. Three weeks ago I created a cover for the book. I’d already created a […] [ ... ]
Bed & Breakfast for Zuri
We’re leaving Zuri with our daughter and her husband over Thanksgiving. This morning I received a message from my son-in-law. Thought you’d like to see how my poor dog will be roughing it. *********************************************************************************** Hey kiddo. I know it’s late, but I was hoping I could get you to answer a few Zuri care related […] [ ... ]
A Visit to the Past
This week a cousin called and asked some questions about her mother, my mother’s only sibling. We talked a bit about what I remembered, and then I recalled that my mother had written her memoirs back around 1990. I thought that might have some information of interest to my cousin, but I wasn’t sure where […] [ ... ]