I’ve written two novels and interviewed several hundred debut authors for my podcast so beginning writers often ask me for advice. And while the internet is filled with solid guidelines on showing vs. telling, write what you know, and overcoming writer’s block, there are other important things that aren’t talked about as often. As we…
Tag: time management
The Joy of Promiscuity
Are you a monogamous writer? You get up every morning and all you can think about is the one novel, the one poem, the one essay you’re trying to write to the exclusion of all else. If a news item sparks a what if scenario, or a fascinating character comes to you in a dream,…
Summertime Blues
The living might be easy, but the writing . . . not so much. Perhaps because I am a writer of horror and mystery, I prefer a melancholy atmosphere—dreary weather and short, dark days—for holing up with my laptop to create twisty stories. When the pools open, the barbeques belch smoke and the drinks don…
Never Enough Hours in a Day
Ever had that feeling? If you haven’t, then either you’re a very lucky person, or you’re fibbing! I’m suffering through a particularly long spell of this problem. Work is busy. My grandkids have had multiple baseball and softball games each week after work. The weeds are growing to rainforest heights due to the wonderful/awful amount…
It’s October, and Halloween isn’t the only scary thing out there
It’s been a month since the Colorado Gold Conference. Since that incredible high of being surrounded by other writers, listening to speakers, attending presentations. If you’re like me, you came home so motivated to get going on that WIP, or start a new book, or revise, or even submit that under-the-bed manuscript that really IS…