Prologues are Played Out

I know I may get some comments on how wrong I am. Still, I know I am not a fan of reading them and I wouldn’t use them. They had their place for world building or setting up a dramatic arc, but I think there are more interesting ways for a writer to achieve this.……

Procrastination: We All Do It

I wanted to post this yesterday, but you know… I came across this post on Anne R. Allen’s wonderful blog. As writers we all have had bouts of putting off writing. Now at least we know it isn’t all our fault, nor is it the reason we may think. Good News About Procrastination

What is it With Gifts

I figure this is as good a time as any to talk about gifts. Not the kind that haunt your credit card statement and are covered in shiny paper and ribbons. Instead I’m talking about talent and what appears to world as a gift. My first year of college, when I was in the music……

Meditation and Writing

I came across this piece on the Creative Pen blog. I meditate every night before bed and find it very helpful for clearing the day.  Writing Tips: 5 Ways Meditation Can Help Writers I urge you to give it a click.

There Is No Such Thing As Talent

I came across this great article by Anne R. Allen in my blog feed. 8 Qualities More Important Than Writing Talent After reading this, and BTW I agree with all 8 as being more important than any concept of talent, I thought about my own views on talent and what it means. As the author of……

Bending Time

I was reading and enjoying Melissa Marr’s spooky novel Graveminder when I came across several flashbacks. I had an idea that these events were in the past but to help that along the author chose to set them off by using italics. I have I already posted in here about my dislike of the overuse of……

Tips for Surprising Your Readers

When I read, I envision each sentence as a path carved out by the author. The path twists and turns and along the way I encounter different sights, sounds, emotions, actions. I stay on the path until I reach the end of the story, which usually coincides with the end of the path. This is……

Great Time at the Avondale Writers’ Conference

This past weekend I took part in the 3rd Avondale Writers’ Conference. I had the privilege of attending as both speaker and attendee. The air had a definite buzz. It was great to see so many talented people, so passionate about their craft. The sessions were all well attended. For my session, I had some 25 attendees and……

Point of View for Writers Slides

Here are the slide from my presentation from the Avondale Writers’ Conference. You can view the presentation at Slide Share.com. If you would like a copy of the slides you can download them here.  SLIDES UPDATE: I meant to include this. I contributed three articles exploring Point of View on the League of the Iron Quill site.

“Rules? They’re More Like Guidelines”

I wanted to share with you a couple of links to blogs that have featured two different posts on writing rules. Speaking for myself, I have followed, broken and even forged a few of my own rules. Is there a rule for every situation? Is there a list of all the rules you will ever need……