The Editing Read-Through

The Editing Read-Through

How many times have a heard an author complain that they’ve read through their book at least a hundred times? I’m certain that’s an exaggeration, but honestly, how many times do you need to go through your book before it’s ready to send out to your professional...
It’s all in your head

It’s all in your head

Did what you meant to write make it to the page? When I first started writing, my husband would read my work and then ask me why I didn’t put in this or that, or he would say that he didn’t understand the characters or their motivations. I would explain that I was...
Everyone’s a hero

Everyone’s a hero

I’m sure you’ve heard that every character in your book considers themselves the hero of the novel. It’s why you need to know the goal, motivation, and conflict of every character (or certainly the primary and secondary characters). But can every...
Google maps is great but…

Google maps is great but…

Google maps is great, but there is no substitute for actually being there. That was my lesson this past week. A few weeks ago, my husband told me he needed to be in London for a conference for a few days and asked if I wanted to join him. Naturally, I jumped at the...
Missing Chekov’s Gun

Missing Chekov’s Gun

Last week in the discussion on the Writers’ Block Party Podcast with Kathy Seidel on the motifs and themes used in my book A Token of Love and Pru Warren’s book Ellen and the Would-Be Gigolo, there was one important concept that we briefly discussed—Chekov’s Gun. Pru...
Deliberate Motifs

Deliberate Motifs

On the Writers’ Block Party Podcast, we recently had Kathleen Gilles Seidel back to speak with us about repeated motifs (note: this won’t air for a few weeks, sorry!). I wrote about them on this blog a couple of months ago, but Kathy did something unique: she...