Just something to think about if you are a writer. And a reader. Are you painting beautiful pictures in your readers’ minds? Are the stories they read from you ones that they will smile over in years to come? Do the books you read create lovely pictures and stories you’ll be glad you read in […]
Push Yourself! But Wait!
It can be exciting to push yourself to climb higher, write more, go longer, fight harder. There’s a thrill about setting new records and going beyond what you thought you could do. You write more than you ever have before. You hiked farther and higher than you thought you could. You created that huge project […]
Are You an Auto-Corrector?
Auto-Correct. Sometimes I think the person who invented auto-correct was a brilliant person with only the desire to help and improve the lives of writers. Other times I’m convinced that whoever invented auto-correct was trying to defeat good writing, create frustration, and ensure that no one had a perfect paper. There are times when I’m […]
Is Said Dead?
The debate that splits the writing community! Some people are passionate about this question and have strong opinions on it. What do I think? Is “said” dead? Should “said” be dead? Never use “said” in your stories! Said is dead! Instead you should use words like shouted, whispered, questioned, demanded, urged, laughed, etc. Only use […]
Tips on Writing Conversation
Do you talk? Of course you do. Some people talk a lot (like me) while others don’t talk as much. Some people talk about anything and everything (again, like me) and others don’t like chit-chat. But how do you get your conversation to sound real in your writing? Here are a few ideas. Make your […]
And I Quote
Sometimes you just need a good quote to remind you of something. Or to encourage you. . . . The essence of writing . . . is not putting words on the page but learning to recognize and erase the unnecessary ones . . . Robert and Michèle Root-Bernstein This doesn’t mean cutting all adverbs […]
How to Get Ideas for Short Stories
So many ideas! So many plots and characters and situations! We are surrounded by story ideas, but sometimes we need something for short stories. What do we do when it seems that everything we think of is complicated, involved, novel length if not a six book series length? Let me give you some suggestions on […]
Tips for Getting Out of a Reading Slump
Reading slumps. They aren’t any fun. Especially if you usually enjoy reading. So how do you get out of a reading slump? I’m sure there are many ways, but here are some ideas that might help you. First things first. Reading slumps can come from a number of different reasons. The first thing to do […]
How Do I Outline?
If you have been reading my posts for a while you might wonder if this is going to be a very short post. I’m a pantser. I rarely know where my stories are going when I start them. So, if I write “by the seat of my pants” how in the world do I outline? […]
Tips for Reading when Life is Busy
You have stacks of books to read. Library books. TBR books that never seem to go away. There are beta books, ARC copies to read and review, and yet . . . Life is busy! So busy! How do you find time to read too? Today I’d like to share some tips about finding time […]
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