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Nourishing Seeds of Inspiration
We are inspired all the time by actions we take, mistakes we made, things we observe, people we meet, and well, life. These seeds of inspiration are often the impetus of a fascinating story. All authors weave personal experiences into their books, and many write entire tomes around these experiences. It’s funny how my interest […]
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Plotter or Pantser? What About Quilter?
Authors love to chat about whether they’re a plotter or pantser. It’s an enlightening topic that pulls back the curtain to see how novels make the journey from idea to bookshelf. Do you start your book by plotting out the scenes? Once you have a solid outline from opening image, through the various acts and…
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Start With Your “Why?”
Go back. Way back. Back to the day you decided you were going to write a novel. Why did you make that promise to yourself? Did you think, “How hard can this be?” Did you want to become famous? Did you covet J. K. Rowling’s lifestyle? Did you want bragging rights? BUZZ! Wrong answer. Though admittedly,…
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When The Call Comes… Answer It!
Don’t Delay Writing The Story You’re Meant To Share With The World. Every writer anticipates the phone call from a literary agent offering a partnership. Or that call from a publisher sharing the news that they’d like to publish your book. Of course, there’s the rare call from Oprah announcing your book has been selected…
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Writing The Old-Fashioned Way
I wrote my first novel longhand. No, I’m not that old that I didn’t have a laptop, but I didn’t have the sleek light-weight versions we do today. You’re probably wondering why I would do such a thing when I had a laptop and desktop in my apartment. Let me take you back a ways.…
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Confessions of a Serial Writer
No, I don’t write comedies or soap operas. I write series. While the tag “serial” may have hooked you here, let me be frank, I loooooooooove to prolong a good storyline (and word, evidently). As a reader I enjoy a series of books whether it be three or twelve (thank you, John Jakes). Why? Well, once…
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I Did It My Way!
Cue up the popular song by Frank Sinatra and you’ll know what I’m talking about. All kidding aside, I broke the rules and did it my way. Really, I did. When I was first published as an author, it was in an entirely different genre. Cool and exciting. I learned a lot since then and…
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Girls (and Everyone) Just Want to Have Fun.
Hey, don’t we all just want to have a little fun now and again? Don’t we deserve it? My point? Reading is one of the greatest luxuries in life and yet, it truly does provide a path to fun. But sometimes the respite of reading brings a little guilt. You’re trading time with family, friends,…
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The Distracted Writer
Each writer has their unique approach. Time for writing, style of writing, approach to writing, location for writing, and of course content of writing. The diversity of authors and stories is growing like never before. It’s exciting. It’s applauded. But what about the diversity in “how” people write? I’m a writer wondering if there’s anyone out…
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To Blog or Not To Blog
Recently, I read a blog about why authors shouldn’t blog. Huh? The creator, also an author who blogs, made some valid points; albeit in their blog which breaks their rule of not blogging. But I digress. Alongside how blogging takes away valuable time from writing books and can habituate poor writing, they made a very…