Hunky heroes and plucky heroines in clean, contemporary, small town romances in the real — and imaginary — worlds.
I've been asked a writer question: How to use action to break up dialogue without disrupting the flow of the story? It’s easy to do and hard to explain. The short answer is that you blend the two together throughout the entire story so there are few if any scenes that are entirely one or …
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I've been asked a writer question: Should an author have a writing portfolio blog? I suppose a writer can exist without writing credits to pull out whenever the occasion requires, but it’s a lot easier to show prospective clients and publishers what you can do if you have samples of your writing at your fingertips. …
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I've been asked a writer question: Is it true that in fiction it's essential to show something instead of just telling the reader what they need to know? The answer is: it depends --- I started my writing career writing short stories. In short fiction, you pretty much must tell because showing would take too …
I've been asked: Can you write precisely about something you’ve never experienced? Writers do it all the time and some of them do it very well. But there’s a caveat and, as far as I’m concerned, it’s a big one. You can picture the situation and imagine what it would be like and then you …
I've been asked: Should you edit as you write your first draft or wait until you are done with the entire manuscript? Good question. Nanowrimo says to just get in there and write and don’t stop until you reach the end. There’s a good reason to follow that advice, namely that if you keep revising …
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Got this in an email and just HAD to pass it on: As you will see, I have been cleaning out drawers. the Fine Art of Piddling!! What is a piddler?? It's hard to explain to begin with, because piddling is neither one thing nor another, but something in between. It is not rest, not …
I've been asked: Must you be an expert in grammar in order to be a good writer? No, you do not need to know good grammar to write well, though it helps. What you do need to know is what you want to say. Sit down at your computer and say it. Use your own …
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I've been asked: How to have better thoughts and not hit that wall after only a couple of paragraphs? Organize them! If you sit down at your computer and start writing without knowing where you are going or why you are heading in that direction, just that you have a thought that sounds good at …
Picture Perfect is now live on Amazon. I'll get the link on the pic on the side bar as soon as possible. In the meantime, it's a fun novella about a guardian angel, Maude, who means well but never seems to do exactly what's needed. Except, of course, she muddles through. It was a fun …
I've been asked: What to do with a novel that’s well written but not marketable now because no one is buying books about the subject matter? Put the manuscript on a shelf and pull it out later when the world has moved on and people — and publishers — are eager for books on that …
Continue reading What do I do with a novel that is the wrong subject matter.
