Promises are tricky, especially those promises we make to ourselves: I won’t do that ever again… I’ll try harder next time… I won’t give up… I’ll be there for you… Those are all extremely difficult promises to keep. But what… Read More ›
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Stuck in a Rut with Your Writing?
The worst part about “getting stuck in a rut” is the inherent comfort that comes along with that fact. As authors it’s important to challenge ourselves and our characters. If we’re unable to shake loose the familiar we just might… Read More ›
Writing is a Balancing Act of the Everyday & the Make-believe
We’re all familiar with those multitudes of hats that writers wear to be able to better tap into their characters: rogue, goody-goody, villain, orphan, princess, king, pauper, thief… There are even the familiar ones: mother, father, sister, brother, aunt,… Read More ›
Starting Over is Hard but Sometimes Necessary
As writers we’re faced with having to start over with every new story, chapter, paragraph… It is not uncommon for a re-write of our first chapter to happen upwards of 7 or even 10+ times… But what about starting your… Read More ›
Celebrate Your Accomplishments as a Writer
Whether you’ve written an aria, epic fantasy, chapter of a memoir, paragraph of a short story or title for your book you need to celebrate your successes and award yourself for each mighty step you’ve taken because writing isn’t as… Read More ›
Questions of Consistency Within a Series
You might think that this quote is stating the obvious, especially when you look at the consistency of character in one book. But what about a series? Characters are supposed to change: grow regress evolve devolve but gradually (most… Read More ›
Character Connections – Inside & Out
A great pick-up line is just like having a great first chapter: you want to engage your reader/partner immediately and the best way to do that is to make a connection. This connection needs to happen not only between them… Read More ›
Discovery and Illusion in Our Own Writing
I have always loved the idea that our characters can lead us places we never expected a story to go. If you’ve never experienced this in your writing then I urge you to give yourself the freedom to explore. I’m… Read More ›
Self-Honesty in Writing
Isn’t honesty always a double-edged sword? I have been looking at the idea of how we, as writers, not only need to be honest with ourselves (about how good our work is, how much more we may need to learn,… Read More ›
Getting Noticed…
The idea of “getting noticed” has been on my mind a lot lately as I furtively await my first royalties cheque from my small publisher. This cheque promises to be small as I am a veritable “no one” in the… Read More ›
