Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “Writing”
Some time ago on Facebook, maybe 2009, somebody challenged me to name seven things about me as a writer that people might not already know. That list popped up on my Facebook memories. Those memories are one of the best things about Facebook. Last week memories of March snows kept popping up to make me glad for the sunshine this …
Just because you know my name doesn’t mean you know my story. That is a slightly enhanced version of a quote attributed to Jonathan Anthony Burkett. “You know my name, not my story.” Sometimes that’s where I am when writing a new story. Names are important to me as I try to get to know my characters. I have a …
A novel needs a good first line. It needs every line to be good but that first line in your story needs to grab a reader’s interest. Those few words need to be a flashing pointer toward the rest of the story. A good first line can also help a writer dive into the story. Most writers, including me, work …
Happiness consists more in conveniences of pleasure that occur everyday than in great pieces of good fortune that happen but seldom. ~~Benjamin Franklin Where do you feel happy? And if you found such a place, how often would you make every effort to go there? This would be a place where you would feel loved and worthy and safe and …
A story has no beginning or end; arbitrarily one chooses that moment of experience from which to look back or from which to look ahead. ~The End of the Affair by Graham Greene (1951) There’s truth in that first sentence of Graham Greene’s novel. A writer does have to pick that moment to let her characters come to life and …
“Help me to continue writing through those black moments of discouragement when I feel that nothing I write is good or worthwhile or will ever be read by anyone.” (an excerpt from A Writer’s Prayer by H. Joseph Chadwick) From the time I got hold of my first notebook and pen, I wanted to be a writer. All those lines …
Working on the narration of my third Rosey Corner novel, Love Comes Home, has me thinking about Rosey Corner again. I did so enjoy getting to know those Merritt sisters plus one and sharing their lives through ten or so years with you readers. I dedicated those stories to my mother and her three sisters. Their stories about growing up in a …
One of the questions I am often asked when I’m giving a book talk or just out and about in my town and meet up with someone who knows I write books is “How many books have you written?” A reasonable question. One I might be curious to know if I was talking to a writer. But I always tell …
Publishing is a business. Writing may be art, but publishing, when all is said and done, comes down to dollars. ~Nicholas Sparks Not long ago, I asked what questions you would like to ask me or perhaps any writer. I answered Lavon’s question about Hobbies, Ideas and Inspiration a week or so ago. You can click on the link if …
When I posted my “Who Are You?” answers on Sunday, I invited you readers to ask any questions I didn’t answer. A few of you did that. Lavon asked, “Do you have other hobbies, besides writing?” I wouldn’t call writing a hobby, but my work. However, it is work I can do at home and somewhat set my own schedule. …