Here we are in mid-January, 2020—holiday celebrations are behind us and another year, another decade is open before us! If you are feeling any after-holiday blues, my message is, “Cheer up.” We are writers. We know a secret to ridding ourselves of the blues. What is it? Start writing. Write what you really feel, smell, see, hear, and touch. No one is watching. You’re free to lose yourself in some messy sentences, brainstorm new characters, or experiment with adjectives you … Read More »

New Year’s resolutions have been around forever, it seems. A fresh start. A clean slate. A new chance to get it right. I have my own, personal resolutions but I thought it would be fun to think about resolutions for me, the writer. Perhaps they’ll strike a chord with you. Give Your Story a Home I always have a story I’m working on and one that is swirling around in my head, impatiently waiting for its turn on the page. … Read More »

My town, Maitland, is not large. Neither is Maitland Public Library. But it’s our library and it’s a treasure, a beating heart of community fabric from the get-go. And in this season of giving thanks, it occurs to me that a ridiculously high number of my most satisfying experiences as a writer have taken place within its venerable walls, and within those of other public libraries as well. Maitland Public launched with 360 books donated by Clara Dommerich in 1896, … Read More »

At the many writing conferences and workshops I’ve attended over the years, I’ve heard about writers who collaborate on a variety of projects, and I always wondered how it worked. It seemed to be a rare, hushed process that took place under mysterious, obscure conditions. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I’d have the opportunity to work with another gifted writer and produce something that was the pairing of two separate, creative minds. Would It Work? Every … Read More »

It’s the holiday season—again—and first up is Thanksgiving. Does this hustle-bustle season mean we writers lay aside our writing? I hope not. Besides the need for some of us to spent time cooking, or traveling great distances to visit family and friends, as writers, in addition to carving turkey, we still need to carve out time to keep the pen moving across paper or the fingers clicking over keyboards. I urge us to give ourselves even ten minutes every day … Read More »

Good critiquing is an art. With each draft, the work gets better and better, and the author becomes more aware and more confident of the elements necessary to tell a good story. But it’s not an easy process. The first time that I attended a critique group early in my writing career, I was terrified. I was writing contemporary mystery — and I’d never read part of a manuscript in front of anyone before. As I read the first five … Read More »