What is the worst part of writing for me? The answer may surprise you. It’s not story structure or idea generation. It’s not learning your characters. It’s not revision. It’s not even grammar. It’s choices. I heard a phrase ‘Your story, your way’. Which is so true and reveals that awful truth. Once the words…
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Seven signs that you are a writer mid-book
7. You think Chocolate, Coffee, Pizza and Wine are the only food groups 6. You count vacuuming and dusting as exercise 5. You have half a dozen cheater stories started 4. Your house is spotless 3. Your husband says “What is for dinner” and your reply is “contractions are more conversational.” 2. The local pizza delivery shows…
Five Year Plan
I had something terrible happen. I hit forty. I’m not really sure how it happened, one day I was thirteen and in my blue room listening to music and reading, and then I blinked and I was in college, and then I blinked again and was forty. I’d wanted to be a writer through all…
Just one small thing
I have small kids that go to a daycare center. They bring home all sorts of crazy illnesses. Flu, whooping cough, Small Pox. Recently my oldest got sick, then the youngest. I thought I was in the clear and then it hit me. Hard. I shivered, was cranky, my body ached, had a running nose,…
Crushed, but thank you
When I was java developer in the way back, a cool new idea was ego-less development. The concept was you shouldn’t get attached to the code, that way feedback would be about the code and not about you or your baby code snippet. It might seem odd, but people are possessive of their code. When I…
Do you recognize the five early warning signs of a bad beta reader for your fantasy novel?
5. They address all correspondence using your main characters first name (Dear Frodo) 4. They ask how to find the portal to your world. (is that through a wardrobe?) 3. They use 1337 speak or text short hand when typing responses (UR s0 kewl) 2. They want you to call them for the feedback using…
Having a Conversation
I don’t consider myself an extrovert. Anyone who knows me is laughing hysterically at this point. But seriously, I think we should switch up the terms or measure twice. Once in a crowd and then one-on-one. Get me in a crowd of strangers, odds are high I will not say anything. I will disengage…