Posts Tagged ‘writing’
Death by Bus
I’ve received a few anxious emails about my outline process from several writers who are at work on their first novels. They’re afraid an outline will suck the joy out of writing. They’re afraid it will somehow lock them in. They ask, “Doesn’t it kill your creativity to know what’s going to happen?” The answer is no, not even…
Read MoreLeon and the Muse
I’ve been a Leon Russell fan forever. I’ve hung in there with him through his rock days, his blues days, his gospel days, and–with some angst–his country days. I always like an artist, whether it be a musician, a novelist, a screenwriter, a photographer–who’s not afraid to stretch and try new things, even if he…
Read MoreBeginning with the End
I started writing as a hobby when I was a hospital social worker a looong time ago (think typewriter and carbon paper. ugh). I thought that working on a novel, the idea for which I’d had in my mind from the time I was twelve years old, would be a fun pastime. After about six…
Read MoreAll in the Family
My family’s pretty talented, if I do say so myself. My parents were not very artistic. . . or even “into” the arts, so I’m not sure where our various passions came from, but they certainly do exist. I wanted to write from the time I was a kid, as did my younger brother Rob.…
Read MoreSome Pictures from the Beach
I returned from a wild week of writing and plotting last night and thought I’d share a few pictures. Bren took all of these (except the one of her, of course). These were taken from our back deck (we had a great view of the snowy egrets!) and Bren captured the storm fence on…
Read More"Aren't Writers Rich?" Talking Bucks
I am often asked how much money I make. Seriously, I am. This may occur in a private conversation with (or email query from) a fledgling author, or it may occur at a reading I’m giving at a library or bookstore in front of a hundred people. Do strangers ask those of you who are teachers,…
Read MoreThe Visual Thesaurus
As I continued my hunt for the perfect title, I paid a visit to my profile over at RedRoom.com. Red Room is a great place to connect with authors, and my blog appears on my profile page over there as well as here on my website. Several people on Red Room offered title ideas for “the book…
Read MoreThe Challenge of Revisions
“It’s never too late — in fiction or in life — to revise.” Nancy Thayer I love that Nancy Thayer quote, but I’m not sure how accurate it is when it comes to either fiction or life. I have about a week left to go in revising After the Storm, and then…
Read MoreThe Book Launch for Before the Storm
Wow, what a great night! Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh provided two scrumptious cakes, I was able to talk about my favorite topic (writing), the audience was attentive and appreciative, and they bought books by the armload. . .which led to the only negative of the evening: we ran out of books! I was so sorry…
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