Book Recommendations (That Actually Help You Write)

If I had a dime for every book that Writers Digest has tried to sell me, I would be a very rich woman. There is always someone trying to sell you a book with the super secret secrets of how to write a novel, how to find an agent, how to edit your novel, how […]

Thou Shalt Not – Commandments of Writing

There is nothing harder for a true believer in the Word, than discovering that you might be guilty of serious blasphemy. Such was the case for me while an acquaintance was reviewing a manuscript for me. I was informed that you can’t use contractions in the narrative. This came as quite a shock to me. […]

Perspective – And How It Feels To Be A Writer

In the book “Misquoting Jesus,” the author remarks about how an event is portrayed four different ways by four different people. He asks himself “Which way did it really happen?” He never admits to himself that it actually might have happened four different ways, all based on the perception of the person who is giving […]

You Think Too Much…

One thing the internet has shown us quite clearly is that everyone wants to be heard. No one understands this desire better than authors. The opposite end of the spectrum has also been exposed through the power of message boards, blogs, fan sites, Goodreads and Amazon.com reviews: You think too much. I read a book […]

Staying True to Your Story & Characters

Last night I was watching Harry Potter: Goblet of Fire with my daughter and I remembered that it was the first book in the series where I felt JK Rowling was starting to manipulate her characters. It wasn’t only that Harry was starting to do things that seemed unnatural, even for a prodigy wizard, the […]

Sick of Writing Advice?

Every morning I get up and I search the twitter hashtag #writing to see if I can find articles by writers with some great advice. I do it as much to network as to find advice because I’m not really looking for advice. I’ve spent more than 20 years writing and the advice articles may […]

Post-It-Note Brainstorming

I have a confession to make: I love paper. You might have noticed this if you’ve browsed my site and have seen my art page. When I write, I do it on a chunky little notepad, sheets of Hello Kitty paper or a spiral bound journal. Even my mouse pad is paper. Sometimes I think […]

Getting Ready for NANOWRIMO – Inspiration! (or: Kick That Muse)

Maybe you’re having a little problem getting your muse to cooperate and you just can’t get that Plot, Character, or Outline down. Is your Muse distracted? You probably have a ton of writing websites bookmarked. You’ve read articles on how-to-write and you’ve researched for days. That might help your skills, but it’s not really very […]

Getting Ready for NANOWRIMO – The Outline

There is a lot of controversy over Outlines. Stephen King, noted author of several bestsellers, says outlines stunt creativity. Many more authors swear by them. You could start an argument that would last into the next century on a message board about their necessity. (Here is a great blog about it) But if you’ve got your […]

Getting Ready for NANOWRIMO – Character

NANOWRIMO starts in a week and it’s a good idea to have a few things down before you get started on trying to write your novel. The first item I addressed yesterday in my blog: The Idea. Today we’ll focus on the best part of writing development: The Character. You can never really go overboard […]