This post is part of the #AuthorToolBoxBlogHop. You’ll find many more posts for writers with tips, information about reading and writing at the hop. Just click here and join the discussion. I’ve been in a #writer’s slump for the last several months. Click To Tweet I finished a manuscript that I’m sending out now for […]
How to Release Your Subconscious. #AuthorToolBoxBlogHop
The left side of our brain is always working away. It interferes with almost all our daily thoughts. That’s where our logical thinking exists. It’s where most writers spend the majority of their time. Particularly if they are in the editing mode. In fact, without the critical thinking of our left brains, we’d never be […]
Do Academic Writers Make Good Novelists?
I live in a college town. There are a lot of very smart people all around me, in the grocery store, in my Sunday School class, on the streets. They are everywhere. It’s no big deal to have a terminal degree (Phd, MD or Law Degree). Many of these people are experts in their particular […]
Mystery Writer on the Jury?
This weekend I got that dreaded letter in my mailbox. A jury summons. Yep, it says I must report or else. The only excuses that fly are old-age, care for someone who can’t take care of themselves, military service and maybe death. All my excuses, “I’m on the last draft of my work-in-progress,” “I need […]
Movies and Books? Do Films Accurately Depict the Books?
There’s always been an argument about whether or not a film accurately portrays the original story form, that is, the novel or memoir. For me, I often think films cannot capture the essence of a full-length book. After all, the film has only two hours in which to tell the story. Novels are a slow […]
Creating Characters that Walk off the Page #AuthorToolBoxBlogHop
Recently I hosted a little gathering at our local library and talked about my books and fiction writing. One of the questions I was asked during the workshop was how do I make my characters seem so real? What are the secrets to creating characters that seem to walk off the page? All of us […]
Do You Think I’m Crazy ‘Cause My Characters Talk to Me?
Okay let’s be clear, I’m a sane person. Or, at least as sane as the next guy. Nonetheless, I imagine my characters directing my stories. Yep, they tell me what to do. I’ve tried to direct them, but that usually leads to a dead end. Some people call that dead end writer’s block. But, in […]
What Do You Do In Between Writing Projects?
I’m pacing around, restless. I finished a writing project and sent it off to a Beta readers. Now, I must wait. Whether it’s to a reader, an agent or a publisher, there’s a lot of wait time after a project is finished. Do you start a new project or pace until your feet ache? What […]
Writers as Lone Wolves with Lots of People in Their Heads
Most #writers spend their days in solitary work #amwriting Click To Tweet They sludge away at their computers, coming out for brief interactions with the fridge. Their thoughts day and night center around their characters and what they are up to. There’s never a dull moment even though their days look dull from the outside. […]
The Painting that Inspired A Painting to Die For
When I began thinking about Jenna’s newest escapades, my father’s painting came to mind. It was always one of my favorites that he painted. The story took root in the discovery of that painting and lots of shanangins surrounding it. I thought my readers might be interested in learning more about the real painting and […]
