My best lessons and indicators for what I should improve or refine in my work are sitting right in front of me, plain as day, in my last creation. In my case, this means that directions for improving my writing can be found in the last piece of writing that I completed. I'm in the process of reading Art and Fear, a book that my author friend…
In the art world, and in most places of life, change can come as fast as a tsunami wave--and my reaction to change may be compared to the terror of standing on the beach, watching the incoming wall of water, and wondering if I really am prepared for what's ahead of me. The analogy is imperfect. A tsunami would likely have killed me. The changes in my…
Have you ever put down a book you were reading because you just couldn't bring yourself to care about any of the characters? There are some genres out there that tend to get so focused on plot and concept that the characters are hammered into these thin cold puppets who act without any visible charisma or relatable motives. As a writer, regardless of your chosen genre, you cannot let…
This is the excerpt for my novel Moonlight and Oranges, currently a quarter finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards. After reading this, go to the Amazon page and review it. Thank you so much! _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ CHAPTER ONE: Orange and Vodka 1) Find a guy. 2) Strike up a witty conversation. If she could get that far. Lorona swallowed her bravado and felt sick. She was beginning…
Marketing myself as a writer is a lesson I've been gradually learning over the past few moths. Usually I'd grit my teeth about this. Many writers absolutely hate marketing. It feels uncreative, its exhausting, it feels like bragging, etc. But it teaches us how to talk to others about our writing. That's essentially what marketing is--a way to clearly communicate what we're about to the greater world. The time the…
Book Launch. Def. a very personal and monumental event in which a writer gets something of his/her own published and then invites everyone he/she knows to commemorate the occasion. I attended the book launch for the novel Blood, by Jack Remick last week. Jack is among the horde of writers who gather together at a cafe in Seattle to write and share their creations, fresh off the page. He invited me…
In the beginning...Once upon a time...There once was a boy... Although many stories begin with interesting beginnings, it seems quite easy for a storyteller to get caught up in the "and then" action that propels the hero into the battle that faces him and the victory (we hope) that he enjoys at the end of the action. I want to talk about the concept of setting up…