I revise every story or draft every time I read it. Even though the plan was to spend the weekend revising Dead Wrong, I came across an agent’s name that seemed perfect for Wishing Caswell Dead, a “completed” manuscript. The guidelines require a very short synopsis, shorter than the ones I had already prepared, and …Read More
Chiseled in Rock Tuesday: Writing (and Deleting) the Memory Dump
I’m over at Chiseled in Rock today with a post about one of the difficulties I experienced with the writing of The Prairie Grass Murders. If your book is set in your home town, you’ll need to watch out for the memory dump. While you’re there, you might want to check out yesterday’s interview with …Read More
Writing to Cope With Life Changes by Ann Carbine Best, Guest Blogger
It is my great pleasure to host Ann Carbine Best as she celebrates the release of her memoir, In the Mirror: A Memoir of Shattered Secrets. I’m a great fan of Ann’s blog so you might want to pay her a visit whenever you can. You’ll find links to reviews of her memoir, learn what’s …Read More
The Best Way to Make a Profit by Bob Sanchez, Guest Blogger
It’s my pleasure to welcome Bob Sanchez to talk about good and bad marketing decisions and how to make the right choices for you and your book. I first met (a virtual meeting) Bob while taking Dani Greer’s blog book tour class. He was very helpful to those of us who were blogging rookies. ————————- …Read More
Writing on a Merry-Go-Round
Doesn’t it seem like writers do the same things over and over? WriteTear up pages or delete chaptersWriteSubmit for critiqueRewrite (many times)Submit to first readerRewriteSelf-edit (finally)SubmitFile rejectionsRepeat above steps as many times as it takesGet sale if we’re luckyMore editsMaybe more editsPromote Sometimes I think, “Stop this carousel, I want to get off.” But I …Read More
“Best Practices” for Successfully and Happily Writing Every Day by Dorothy St. James, Guest Blogger
I’d like to everyone to meet Dorothy St. James, author of Flowerbed of State, the first book in the White House Gardener Mystery series from Berkley Prime Crime. Flowerbed of State, has been called “spunky” (Library Journal), “fast-paced” (Publishers Weekly), and “it quite simply blew me away” (Criminal Element). Dorothy has a contest going at …Read More
October’s Colorado Photos and Thoughts About Creativity
For a delightful side trip to Colorado, check out last month’s photo entries and the winners, now available online at The Fort Collins Coloradoan. There were 99 amazing entries in October. Every time I look at the photos in this contest, I want to give up writing and take up photography. Buy a new camera. …Read More
Letting My Fingers Do the Writing
Some of the most amazing things happen while we’re writing. We might sit down to type a scene that we’ve worked out. An hour later, we’re creating another scene that came from nowhere, had not been planned, and might even take our characters in a different direction than we expected. I love those moments, but …Read More
Quiet! Woman Writing.
Okay, I’m (almost) totally linked out for this week. I have no lists or recommendations. There’s only one thing on my mind: the work in progress. Today and tomorrow are writing days. Darling husband is playing bridge this afternoon and all day tomorrow, so the house will be quiet. I love quiet. Quiet is the …Read More
Story Jumps Boundaries, Characters Are Out of Control
Lynnette’s story began as a simple novel of suspense. The first outline had only one chapter that was not in Lynnette’s point of view. Then one of the bad guys grew bigger than the part I had given him, so I wrote some chapters from his point of view. He was only a minor bad …Read More