Every editor and writing instructor will tell you how important the beginning of a book is. It sets the stage, draws the reader in, and likely influences whether the reader will buy (and read) the book at all. Lately I’ve been thinking about the importance of endings. My thoughts were drawn there partly because I’m…
Books that are also movies Old Yeller by Fred Gipson and Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls? (Just the titles make me cry.) Jack London’s, White Fang takes us on quite an emotional journey. Based on L. Frank Baum’s book series, The Wizard of Oz was an annual Easter family event in our…
I’ve been writing fiction for 39 years. It took me 23 years to get published. I thought I would always write crime fiction. Now, after five novels out in one mystery series, I have a regular old novel coming out on January 1 from Lake Union. It’s called The Fireballer. Of course I have no…
While we’re in that period between people receiving their scores and critiques from the contest, and preparing for pitch sessions at the conference, this seems like a good time to talk about rejection. If you’re engaged in an artistic endeavor like writing, rejection is almost inevitable. There are a few people who get published right…
After playing with the Atlanta Braves for 12 years, Freddie Freeman signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Last month, he returned to Atlanta for the first time to play a game in his new uniform. And, according to almost every single account of the experience, he “got emotional.” Okay, now, one of your jobs as…