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Happy Holidays, One and All

Posted by on Dec 21, 2011 in Writing Tips | 1 comment

Happy Hannukah, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year…last and NEVER least, peace on Earth, good will toward men.   I’ll be doing a little of this:   A little of this:       And a lot of this:   See ya’ll next...

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Breaking Out of the Editing Funk

Posted by on Dec 15, 2011 in Writing Tips | 5 comments

In a self-destructive editing funk? Yeah, me, too. These are the issues I’m wading through: Not covering enough ground per day Self-doubt: will it ever be good enough? Balancing everything: character development,  foreshadowing, symbolism, authentic dialog, inner struggle, raising the stakes, pacing Scenes & sentences are running together   Here is how I’m dealing with them: CREATING NEW HABITS   KNOW WHAT YOU’RE WRITING ABOUT Begin each writing/editing...

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7 Deadly Sins of the Twitterverse

Posted by on Dec 11, 2011 in Writing Tips | 0 comments

Avoid the seven deadly sins of Twitter or you’ll surely go straight to #TwitterHell in a hand basket. #7. DRUNK PICTURES I like to have a good time as much as the next guy, but don’t give free fodder to those who may want to crucify you later.  DUH. #6. RETWEETING IMPERSONAL LINKS Sharing relavent articles is great. Go for it—SOMETIMES. Show your sparkling personality inbetween the blurbs of hard news. Just spare us the talk of laundry folding and toilet scrubbing. #5. DIRECT...

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Blog Hop: Guessing the Age Contest

Posted by on Dec 8, 2011 in Contests & Hops | 23 comments

Hello fellow blog hoppers. I’m having a great time reading your intros and guessing the age. Can you guess my protag’s age in the first 250 words of my WIP? Any suggestions or recommendations on my intro? Let me have it! Let me know if you follow me and I’ll follow you back.   The voodoo priestess tossed entrails into the fire. My throat tightened at the stench, and sweat trickled in hidden places beneath my damp, cotton dress in the suffocating heat. Mosquitoes buzzed....

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Best Checklist EVER: 10 Rules of Writing

Posted by on Dec 4, 2011 in Writing Tips | 6 comments

I confess, this is not my writing checklist. Janis Hubschman created it and is kind enough to share it with the world. If you aren’t using these techniques to advance your prose, I suggest you get busy. They may save you a couple of crappy first novels or short stories. 1. WHEN THE STORY STALLS, ask: what is the character thinking now? Is she thinking anything? If not, why not? Characters need to learn something about themselves, about their values and assumptions. 2. CHARACTERS REVEAL...

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Revising Your NaNoWriMo Novel…or Any Other Novel For That Matter

Posted by on Nov 30, 2011 in Writing Tips | 2 comments

I’ve grappled with how to begin the second round of revisions on my novel (not a NaNoWriMo book) the last few weeks. I’m at the part, you know, where you really have to make your prose sing.  The problem is, everytime I’ve thought of tackling my MS, I’ve wanted to beat it with a broom handle rather than face it again. Soooo, I took a six week break and enlisted a few high profile beta readers. The result: it’s in decent shape, but still needs some very...

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