Okay so I didn’t actually kill off any of my characters, not yet at least. But they do get hurt. What we really need to focus on is not letting your personal goals, agenda, or outline mess up what your characters are really like or would really do. Just because you have a favorite partContinueContinue reading “Kill Your Darlings: Revising for Exclusion”
Category Archives: Writing
Cats, Frames, and Copyediting- A Dilemma in Destruction
I’ve framed old things before (like this sheet music) but never have I hurt a book, ever. Until today. I’ve got all my books unboxed and either up on my shelf or loving stowed away awaiting more bookshelves to be built (I need more walls). As I categorized and organized these old tomes I realizedContinueContinue reading “Cats, Frames, and Copyediting- A Dilemma in Destruction”
Capturing Ancient Faces: Character Desctiptions for Writers
Somehow ancient sculptors are able to translate a person’s face, expression, life, into each piece of marble. Yet, somehow, when we write we limit ourselves to eyes, hair and height. A person is so much more. Real people have a soul and getting that onto your pages and into your characters is one of theContinueContinue reading “Capturing Ancient Faces: Character Desctiptions for Writers”
Bookshelf Transformation
Too many books are squirreled away in the crevasses of my home. It’s high time they had a place of there own. Not just a shelf- a space- a bookspace (it should be a word!). I’ve picked my biggest living room wall (nearly 20 feet) and a contractor. I saved up my dimes after gettingContinueContinue reading “Bookshelf Transformation”
PokémonGo and Writing: An Encouraging Comparison
To those of you who think PokémonGo is a joke. You are entitled to your opinion but for many it brings joy and fun to a bleak world right now. It’s a rally against the things tearing us apart by bringing people together at parks, churches, and street sides. So to my special group ofContinueContinue reading “PokémonGo and Writing: An Encouraging Comparison”
Plotting with Cell Phones: A Writer’s Guide
I’m sure you’ve heard it a fair number of times, “I write this genre/time because there are no smart phones to deal with.” It’s a tough fact, smart phones can kill your plot with a phone call or quick Google search. Here are a few examples. What’s a writer to do? You either fall into oneContinueContinue reading “Plotting with Cell Phones: A Writer’s Guide”
Example of Editor Awsomeness
If you haven’t taken advantage of a professional editor, it’s amazing what you can learn especially if you are trying to break in. I’d like to share an excerpt from my first chapter and I will cringe every time this post gets a view, so embarrassing. Here is my pre-edit from page one and I feltContinueContinue reading “Example of Editor Awsomeness”
Hype, Engagement, and Twitter
Yes, I know any hype you can get for your book is better than no hype at all. But lets be real, not all hype is created equal. I’ve seen this (de-identified) Tweet many times for books, “Amazing Book (link) @soandso.” How nice of @soandso to say that about your book. You see these blurbs all theContinueContinue reading “Hype, Engagement, and Twitter”
Times OLD Roman
Ancient script brings a whole new level to the term hand lettering. These letters are literally chiseled out of marble and still around today. Talk about longevity of work. Traveling around Rome I took pictures of as many samples of ancient text I could find. Here are a few from the coliseum, forum, museums, andContinueContinue reading “Times OLD Roman”
Creating Cute, Clever, and Killer Blog Titles
A quick internet search will tell you all the “best” ways to name a blog post. But who is right? I’d venture to say, “It depends on the post.” For instance I could’ve named this post many different things lets dig a little deeper into all the methods for catching reader’s eyes in this fastContinueContinue reading “Creating Cute, Clever, and Killer Blog Titles”
Audience not Censorship: A Mini Rant
Let me be very clear, when we use age as a way to categorize books we are talking exclusively about the audience. THAT IS ALL. The age of your audiences has nothing to do with censorship or content. This whole idea has been floating around on Twitter and it’s beyond frustrating. No where are thereContinueContinue reading “Audience not Censorship: A Mini Rant”
Finding Voice
First find the tiny seed of a four leaf clover. Since you can’t tell the difference between three and four leaf clover seeds plant them all and wait. As they grow and display leaves count them. If you didn’t get a rare four leaf in this batch start over. At least that’s what it feels likeContinueContinue reading “Finding Voice”
Writer Resources- My Go To List
We all have places online we have stumbled upon and cling to on a daily or weekly basis. These are people we look up to and are eager to learn from. My list represents industry professionals that drop gems of information every week. All you have to do it come pick them up. Not 100% of everything isContinueContinue reading “Writer Resources- My Go To List”
No Time like Query Time
So I’m midstream in waiting to hear back from two dozen queries. What’s a girl to do? Here are some thoughts on moving forward while you wait. Don’t lose your writing habits. Many of us sit at our computers hitting refresh on our inbox every 30 seconds. Don’t let your writing time and habits fallContinueContinue reading “No Time like Query Time”
Dollar Store DIY
Marbled Coffee Mug I am starting a dollar store DIY series that I will be posting monthly. It will be made up of fun DIY’s made from items you can only purchase at the dollar store. My first DIY is a marbled coffee mug, I paid 3 dollars for the supplies at the dollar tree. This wouldContinueContinue reading “Dollar Store DIY”
Problem: The Slow Start
While starting off slow and easy is generally preferred with most things in life, it is the opposite when it comes to a good book. Readers want complete and total immersion from page one! It’s a tall order. I admit my book starts off slow. I wanted to build tension and let the reader experience whatContinueContinue reading “Problem: The Slow Start”
I Used to Hate Red Pen
But now I hate purple. Thanks to some amazing editing partners I’m awash in it. I’ve killed three of my own pens trying to fix the mess of a manuscript I have. But looking back on all the work over the past two years I feel proud of the manuscript I have. I’ve learned aContinueContinue reading “I Used to Hate Red Pen”
Why Indiana Jones & I still use the Library
“Ninety percent of an archaeologist’s time is spent in the library. Myths can only be taken at face value. We do not follow maps to buried treasures and X never ever marks the spot.” -Indiana Jones, The Last Crusade I can feel the eye rolls like an earthquake, but hear me out. It may seemContinueContinue reading “Why Indiana Jones & I still use the Library”
Query Letter Conundrum
I recently had the opportunity to attend a query letter boot camp. Thanks to Caffeinated Press for hosting, it was extremely insightful. I did bring a query letter with me, and I ignorantly thought it was perfect. I now know better. I’d like to share some of the feedback I got with you. Hopefully, youContinueContinue reading “Query Letter Conundrum”
Goldilocks Gets It Just Write
Goldilocks takes so much crap for wanting to be “just right.” The perfectly warm oatmeal. The wonderfully spacious bed. Sure she’s breaking and entering into the Bear’s home, but she’s looking for perfection. And isn’t that what every writer is aiming for? We want enough detail to immerse the reader but not too much weContinueContinue reading “Goldilocks Gets It Just Write”
Holy Homesteading 