Blessed quiet fills the house, broken only by the soft whisper of flames in the gas fireplace and the hiss of the tea kettle in the kitchen. I pull out my laptop, ready for the smooth feel and steady clicking of the keys beneath my fingers. It's 9 PM at my house, and my kids … Continue reading Rekindling Your Passion for Writing: Part One
Create Your Own Newsletter with Mailchimp: The Basics
Well, friends, I'm pleased to report that instead of putting it off for most of 2019, I decided to tackle one of this year's toughest goals head-on: creating my author newsletter. Most people in the publishing world will tell you there are couple of things you have to have in today's digital age if you … Continue reading Create Your Own Newsletter with Mailchimp: The Basics
Diving Deep Into Third Person Point of View
Have you gotten feedback from readers, agents, or editors telling you they can't connect with your story? Or that you're doing too much telling instead of showing? Or maybe they can't tell what your characters want? While a variety of problems can lead to this sort of feedback, one thing definitely will--using distant third person … Continue reading Diving Deep Into Third Person Point of View
7 Tips for Sticking Your New Year’s Resolutions
There's nothing quite like a new year to bring out the lofty ambitions. We're refreshed and rested after some time off for the holidays, and January 1 feels like the right time for a fresh start. But sadly, New Year's resolutions have become almost a joke in our culture. The regular attendees at the gym … Continue reading 7 Tips for Sticking Your New Year’s Resolutions
‘Tis the Season for…
What jumped into your mind first? Harried holiday shoppers and annoyingly long lines? Endless renditions of Christmas songs on the radio? Overindulging on treats? Office parties and vacation days? Trying to squeeze one more activity into an already bulging schedule? It seems far too easy these days to let this special time of year devolve … Continue reading ‘Tis the Season for…
What I Learned From My First NaNoWriMo
Hear that whooshing sound? Kind of like an Amtrak train speeding through the countryside? That was the month of November hurtling past in a blaze of turkey and pumpkin pie-filled glory. November was also a month full of words--a little over 50,000, to be more precise--because wonder of wonders, I not only survived my first … Continue reading What I Learned From My First NaNoWriMo
Giving Thanks, Plus NaNo Updates
My daughter came home from Sunday school last week with a paper she was excited to share. "Mom," she said, "we talked about being thankful at church." Then she read me the questions on her sheet, plus her answers: Think about your closet. How many shirts do you have? Sixty. (Just a wee bit high...but she … Continue reading Giving Thanks, Plus NaNo Updates
The Power of Voice
"Vox populi, vox Dei." My kids study Latin as part of their homeschool work (I know, I'm a mean teacher). One of their books last year contained the above Latin saying, which means, "The voice of the people is the voice of God." Now, while I don't agree that people speak in place of God, … Continue reading The Power of Voice
To NaNo or Not to NaNo? That Is the Question.
If you've been in the writing world longer than a millisecond, you've probably heard of NaNoWriMo. For those of you who are readers and not writers, it's short for National Novel Writing Month. Essentially the goal is to write a short novel (50,000 words) in the month of November. That breaks down to writing about … Continue reading To NaNo or Not to NaNo? That Is the Question.
Cover Reveal for The Tank
Happy fall, dear friends! Can you believe 2018 is already nearly to its end? One of my goals for this past year was to publish something, and I'm so excited to let you all know that one of my short stories will be hitting Kindle Select later this month. As mentioned in my previous post, … Continue reading Cover Reveal for The Tank
