The Three Rs: Reading, wRiting, and Roaming

How Limiting Screen Time, Keeping a Calendar, and Visits to the Local Hardware Store Will Keep Me on Track

During the holiday season, my writing time gets impacted by the rush of parties, travel, and celebrations. I’m sure it’s that way for most all writers, so I’m offering ideas to stay on track. Two of my suggestions are practical. One is a bit off the wall. But I’m a writer. Outside-the-box thinking is normal, right?

Put down the phone

Social media is not just a distraction, it’s a time warp. Precious minutes tick by while we check applications such as Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter. There are monitors and timers to help with limiting the time spent browsing, but an old-... Continue Reading

When I began writing fiction professionally, I had no idea the number of things I would need to learn on the way to publication and beyond. I will never forget the many people who provided kind mentorship in those early months. Now, ten years later, it’s incredibly fun to do the same for other writers through my company Lost Lake Press.

But let’s back up to the very beginning of this journey. It was 2009, and I made a decision to radically change my professional world. My sister had been diagnosed with a terminal cancer—the same cancer that took my oldest sister a few years prior. I was devastated and with the reminder (yet again) that our time here is finite, I... Continue Reading

Last month, I wrote with gusto about the benefits of an accidental retreat. I had a wonderful time when my husband suggested I go up north. Alone. To the woods. Where I could reside in solitude with nothing but mystery books, spotty cell service, and a large, empty forest around me.

A retreat is all fun and games until reality sets in. What was I thinking? What if something had happened?

It’s October, a time for spooky nights and ghost stories. The theme leads me to this month’s blog post’s topic, obituaries. Have you written one? Have you composed your own?

We’re writers, so we should be prepared to write something... Continue Reading

I'm pleased Amanda Zieba is able to join us again. Amanda is an author, a word nerd, a mom, a wife, a teacher, and so much more. Today she gives us excellent exercises for creating great characters. I think designing characters and all their traits (quirky or not) is one of the most fun parts of being a fiction writer. These exercise will definitely get you started.

Character Creation with Amanda Zieba

Character. Without it, your story is meaningless. Your reader needs something to care about, SOMEONE, to root for, empathize with, and emotionally invest in.

Two of my current fiction projects are demanding that my attention be focused on character, which got me thinking about how to better understand who my characters really are. How do you get to know someone you... Continue Reading