I’ve recently turned my attention to an old manuscript of mine. It’s been sitting on the hard-drive of the last several computers I’ve had, minding its own business, being patient. It’s the first novel I ever wrote, and while I sent it out numerous times, I wasn’t able to find…
Page-a-Day Update
So, you might be wondering how I’m doing on the Page-A-Day Challenge? It’s been two weeks since it started, so we’re on day fourteen and I’ve added 23 pages to my manuscript. True, they’re double-spaced pages but still. I started with 179 pages with 48,358 words. Currently? 202 Pages 55,372…
Writing: The Difference Between Night and Day
Do you do your best writing in the morning? Or at night? This is one of those topics that can raise strong opinions. People who write in the morning say that their brain is fresher, more creative. Their energy level is high, and they can crank out their best work…
Who Are You Talking To?
In case you’ve forgotten, here’s one of the cardinal rules of writing: Don’t Forget Your Audience. This should be obvious. If you’re writing for children, there will be language or graphic scenes that you don’t need to detail. If you’re writing romance novels, on the other hand, you can go…
Page-A-Day Challenge
As instructed as part of Weronika’s Page-A-Day Challenge, I’m setting up one post to track my progress. My “victim” for this challenge is an old manuscript I’m resurrecting. If you don’t already know, I’ve got three novels written. My first, “After Happily Ever,” was finished back in the mid-1990s and…
One Page a Day
I’m not usually one to sign up for writing “challenges.” Externally imposed deadlines or goals always seem so … artificial. But, then … Weronika Janczuk made an excellent point. We discussed mind tricks for a little while, and the prime example included the “page-a-day” trick. Instead of giving yourself a…
Good Writing is About Discovery
Let me ask you a question. Do you like being told what to do? Or do you prefer making your own decisions? I wrote recently, when discussing the “Show, Don’t Tell” rule, that writing is about taking the reader on a voyage of discovery The minute I typed that, my…
MM: Show, Don’t Tell
It’s one of the cardinal rules for writing, though you hear it more with fiction than non-fiction. (It applies to both, though.) Show, Don’t Tell. Instead of saying, “He was nice to small children and animals.” You write, “As he dashed out the door to put out the fire, he…
Review of an Important Offer!
Well, this looks important. It even says so. “Important Notification for New Jersey State Residents,” right there on the cover. I’d better hurry and open it! So, I hurriedly tear off the perforated sides … because that’s always fun … and this is what I see. An offer for books.…
Reading is Hard
I spent some time with one of my friends and her 6-year old twins recently. They came to visit with a big pile of first-level reading books, and we adults had a chance to help them over the hard parts. I don’t know about you, but I remember learning to…