Writing for the joy of it

Jun 23, 2024 | Blog, Life, Writing, Writing Craft

Have you ever looked at something either in your own life or that of someone else and said, “that would make a great story”? Do you play (or have you ever played) Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, or any other role-playing game? If the answer to either of these...

Say What? Part 2

Mar 24, 2024 | Blog, Writing, Writing Craft

This is a continuation of the article I wrote last week. You can read it here. In this post I’ll talk about: to show conflict, (show vs. tell) to impart information to the reader succinctly, to make the reader a part of the action. Determine the pacing of the...

Should you write before you write?

Mar 3, 2024 | Blog, Method, Writing

Writing before you write? Why? The obvious answer is to get your thoughts together, but there are other reasons as well. Here are five you might want to consider: Whether you’re a pantser or plotter, we all need to rally our thoughts. We’re human; our...

A glance at my writer’s bookshelf

May 28, 2023 | Blog, Writing, Writing Craft

We all need some help now and then. And we all need guidance on how to do this crazy thing we call “writing a novel”. I’ve found incredible inspiration and learned so many lessons from the books on my writer’s bookshelf. Here are some...

What you need to get started writing your novel

May 7, 2023 | Blog, Method, Writing Craft

A few weeks ago I talked about my analog toolbox. One of the most important worksheets I use is my “When Starting a Book” Worksheet (it could probably use a better name, but at least that one is descriptive). This worksheet contains the bare minimum you should know...