The Writing Process
All Those Things I Needed To Know
The title of this blog sounds like a slightly different version of my first list blog, doesn’t it? Of course for that one I had questions that had never been answered. Today I’m sharing answers to questions I’ve researched for my next book. Every novel requires a mountain of research. Sometimes it’s as mundane as the right word…
Read MoreJudging Other People’s Books. What Do I Know?
Last summer I was asked to give input into a new literary prize in the making. Input is easy to give. I explained my take on several items in question and enjoyed the company of other writerly persons in the room. I thought I was finished. Then in November I received my judging instructions. Now,…
Read MoreBook Groups and Reader Questions: Whose Life Do We Want to Discuss?
Several weeks ago my editor made a simple, logical request. Please come up with reader discussion questions for the back of my next novel, One Mountain Away, which debuts in August. One Mountain Away is the first book in a new series, Goddesses Anonymous, and centers around issues readers might want to talk about in…
Read MoreWho’s At The Controls? You Might Be Surprised
Today I got an email from an unhappy reader because the copy of Sunset Bridge she bought was missing significant pages. Unfortunately this was the fourth or fifth email of its kind in the past few weeks. Clearly somewhere along the way a small batch of that title, the final of three in my Happiness Key series, went…
Read MoreWaiting And Praying For The End
In my house it’s easy to tell how close I am to turning in a book. 1–We eat takeout and frozen foods from the last decade. 2–I begin to wear clothing that under normal circumstances I would use to dust my furniture. 3–I can’t remember the date, often even the month, since it does NOT…
Read MoreThe Write Way: Daily News, Daily Blues, Pick Out a Story Every Time You Choose
Okay, who remembers Tom Paxton? Remember his song Daily News? “Daily news, daily blues, pick up a copy every time you choose. Seven little pennies in the newsboy’s hand. . .” Seven little pennies? Newsboy? How old is this song, anyway? Apparently it’s this old: “Civil rights leaders are a pain in the neck, can’t…
Read MoreWhat’s In a Title? Hooking the Reader Through Collaboration.
Okay, I’ll admit it. There are parts of the writing process I do not love. One of them is collaboration. No, I don’t write with a partner, and couldn’t if my life depended on it. But I am part of a team, the team that publishes my novels, and they have a say in lots…
Read MoreFinding The Muse Beside the Lake
For the past two weeks I’ve had the pleasure of teaching two different writing classes here at Chautauqua Institution in Western New York. Talking about one of my favorite subjects, in one of my favorite places, has been a joy. In the first class, Plotting a Murder, we did just that. Together we came up…
Read MoreCHUsday, Zucchini Recipes, and Cliches
I’m away for the moment, teaching a class in my favorite place in the world, Chautauqua Institution in Western New York. My good buddy Casey Daniels(aka Kylie Logan with a new series debuting next month) and I are teaching together in the upcoming week. Casey and I have been friends for a LONG time and…
Read MoreIf Fiction is by Definition a Pack of Lies, How Accurate Must I Be?
I love doing research. One of the joys of writing is my freedom to choose subjects that interest me, then read, surf the Internet and travel to find out everything I need to know. Okay, sometimes I just want to know things because I do. I know, as I’m delving deeper and deeper that I…
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