I have mixed emotions about chickens. On the one hand, the babies are cute. And for some reason I'm unable to comprehend, raising chickens is becoming more and more popular. Kids seem to love them. I don't know why. When I was in elementary school, my mother decided we would raise chickens so she sent …
Spaghetti sauce
I am a spaghetti aficionado. I love to make almost anything made with tomatoes. Spanish rice. Chili. Chili mac. Lasagna. Mostly, though, I make spaghetti. Actually, I make spaghetti sauce. When it's done, I cook a dozen or so pieces of pasta and throw them into the sauce because it seems the right thing …
Where is the beginning?
Where to start a story? How to begin the journey? Believe it or not, there’s a specific answer to this question, one that many, possibly most, would-be writers don’t know. Start where and when the main character begins to interact with whatever he/she must deal with in order to get to the end of the …
Pantsers.
A wanna-be writer asked me what a pantser is. Easy. A pantser is someone who writes by the seat of their pants. They put the seat of their pants on the seat of their chair and start writing whatever comes into their mind and revise it later. Plotters, on the other hand, plan ahead and …
Characters in fiction and real life. Not much difference.
Can a writer create a character without including the writer’s biases? Ask the question a different way: Can a person describe someone they know without including their own biases? In theory it’s possible but in both life and in writing, it's hard because we don't really know anyone except ourselves and others like us. Which …
Continue reading Characters in fiction and real life. Not much difference.
My back yard in winter
We got a bunch of snow dumped on us. It was the heavy, wet, sticky kind of snow that stays on the tree branches almost forever, turning the entire world into a fairyland of white frosting. It's pretty. It's also perfect for a background picture for an ad I wanted to make for my latest …
Picture Perfect
I'm trying out something new. A novella. I think of novellas as half books because they are about half as long as a normal short novel. I've done novellas before but this one will be different. First of all, it'll be part of a package deal, a boxed set. I think there will be five …
Cry for happy
I just read an online article about a bunch of people saving a baby elephant that was trapped in mud. I was glad I was alone because I cried as the baby elephant was rescued safely . You see, I'm one of those people who cry. You know the type. Whenever a flag goes past, …
