What Marketing Books and Garage Sales Have in Common
I dislike garage sales. Both shopping at them and even more, having them. But we’re moving, and I refuse to haul stuff I don’t use to yet another house. So, much as I avoid them, I organized a neighborhood garage sale for this weekend, figuring it would help my neighbors lighten up on the junk,…
Read MoreHow Spill Strong Emotion on the Page
I’ll admit, this blog was sparked by THIS one (it’s awesome-go read it-we’ll wait). It had a quote from F. Scott Fitzgerald: “… I’m afraid the price for doing professional work is a good deal higher than you are prepared to pay at the moment. You’ve got to sell your heart, your strongest reactions, not…
Read MoreOverused Words
We all have them. Mine may be different than yours. They’re like whack-a-moles – you banish one, and two others pop up. You may think they don’t matter, but they do. They irritate the reader on a subconscious level. Use them enough, and they’ll remember they have to put the laundry in the dryer –…
Read MoreCraft Tips to Strengthen Your Writing
I recently spoke at the Caprock Writers Alliance. They were kind enough to do a video of my presentation, and I wanted to share it with you. Hope it helps!
Read MoreEditing Pet Peeves
We all have them. Things that make us crazy, whether we’re reading a novel for pleasure or critiquing a colleague’s work. We’re readers first, and I believe these peeves are forged by what we’ve read – like Chinese water torture they fall, drop by drop, until you notice them and continuing until you can’t see…
Read MoreCut Some Slack
I have a theory: I believe writers are by nature, more observant and aware of what’s going on around them than ‘normal’ people. So changes and threats in their environment hit them harder. That’s not science, just a personal observation of mine, but I believe if you poll your writer friends, they may be struggling.…
Read MoreFor the Pantsers
I don’t think the hardest part of learning to write is the craft. It’s learning how you write a book. I believe your brain already knows how, but it’s not talking. So you dig, finding and discarding methods over your shoulder like a cheap clotheshorse at a Macy’s sale. Frustrating, isn’t it? And it seems…
Read MoreReviews – the Good, the Bad, the Brutal
Reviews are one of the top three causes for visceral emotions in authors. Two-inches-off-the-floor elation to meltdowns, there’s nothing we look forward to with more hopeful trepidation. Many authors refuse to look at them. They say it’s death by a million cuts, and I get it. You spend six months to a year writing the…
Read MoreFlash Fiction – Just for Fun
I wrote a post a while ago, on why you should write Flash Fiction – you can read it HERE. I enjoy the heck out of it – it’s like cleansing my palette between projects…cleans out the old plots and leaves my mind clear for the next. Then Sherry Gross told me about NYC…
Read MoreDynamic Dialogue
I teach writing classes, and one of the things I see most often is awkward, stilted or boring dialogue. Why? Because dialogue in writing is not like dialogue in real life. It’s real life on steroids. It’s all the great stuff without all the, how-are-you’ s, um’s and awkwardness. It’s all the stuff you lie…
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