I was talking with a writer the other day. Those writers. You know the type. Shifty-eyed. Distracted. Stinking of gin and desperation. A nervous laugh and a hair-trigger sense of despair. Yes. A writer. She was working on her first novel, and times were bad. Why were times bad? Because she was about halfway through…
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I’m Guilty – Throw the Book At Me (I really need to catch one!)
Yep. I’m guilty. I didn’t mean to do it. It just happened. I stopped writing and started doing yard work. With a shovel. I became enamored with a battery-operated sprayer for my weeds. I couldn’t resist the siren call of the annual plant displays at every store in town, including the pharmacy. I found a…
Rocky Mountain Writer #49
Jennifer Kincheloe & The Secret Life of Anna Blanc Last week, Jennifer Kincheloe found out that her first mystery, The Secret Life of Anna Blanc was nominated for a Macavity award in the historical category—one of the top prizes in the mystery writing field. Just a few years ago, that same novel was a winner…
Mind, Body and Writing
A friend of mine who has endured cancer treatment and chronic pain issues for the last several years recently announced that she was taking a break from writing. Cognitive issues related to chemotherapy have made story structure and continuity, even word recall, a huge challenge for her. But even more than that, I think she…
Always Be Researching
One of my most enduring beliefs about being a writer is that you should always be researching. Of course, the sort of research you need is completely dependent on the type of story you’re constructing, but outside of closely examining human behavior, my favorite research involves travel. Writers don’t have to love far flung destinations,…