Book Review David Morrell is the author of First Blood, the novel in which Rambo was created. In his book The Successful Novelist: A Lifetime of Lessons about Writing and Publishing, he lays down the rules of writing as he understands them. Overwhelmingly, it is a helpful array both for the new writer and the experienced ones….
If you are like me, with a myriad of writing friends spread out across a myriad of different social networks, the buzz word for October is NaNoWriMo. No matter the type of newsfeed, as November approaches friends are posting their intent to participate in National Novel Writing Month, complete with ideas on how to tackle…
Book Review Why We Write is a collection of essays from 20 authors*, edited by Meredith Maran. The essays are written by authors who “have written books that sell in the kinds of numbers that make publishers send them flowers and leather-bound first editions. And most importantly, new book contracts.” Maran calls them the successful ones,…
The fall or spring equinox, depending on where you live, is one of four seasonal changes. It is a handy reminder that can be used as a status check in your writing. The upcoming equinox falls on September 23 this year and is the balance between an equally long day and night. A point where…
Do you have an ideal reader? You know the one reader that you think about as you are sculpting your prose; that reader who is sitting on your shoulder as you look for the proper way to turn a phrase, or escalate a series of events? This idea has come and gone throughout my writing…
Dani Shapiro’s Still Writing: The Perils and Pleasures of a Creative Life is a gentle companion, filled with a myriad of antidotes that helps the writer on their own personal journey. The book is not a how-to guide in the least. It does not go over grammar, writing a sentence, or the like. It does, however,…
Do you know the term “Mary Sue”? I am sure most of you have at least heard this term in passing. To sum it up, the Mary Sue character is an idealized, almost entirely perfect main character. The Mary Sue character originated in a Star Trek parody by Paula Smith in 1973. It was shortly…
The daily word count is a personal matter. Some authors adhere to actual counts while others take a time measuring method. I have always used a daily word count but for some writers a daily word count is more of a guideline than a strict goal. And still others see words counts as the motivator…