Santa Claus flies a sleigh pulled by reindeer, lumbers down brick chimneys, and stashes gifts under light-strewn evergreens. In operating rooms across the country, surgeons dress in hospital-green outfits, don paper masks, and remove tumors from unconscious patients. Behind closed doors, writers sit in desk chairs reading, thinking, and writing stories, poems, and plays. We hear, “You are what you do.” How about, “Do what you are.” Are you Santa? Are you a surgeon? Are you a writer? If you’re … Read More »

As we celebrate another holiday season, gift-giving tops our to-do lists. As writers—and this may be preaching to the choir—we have a perspective on that both personal and universal. Most of us have books on our wish lists. We want books, and constant reading anchors our growth as writers. But asking for books also helps keep afloat our industry, the industry of the written word. When our friends and families buy us those books, book people—writers, publishers, editors, agents, readers, … Read More »

This has no specific connection to historical fiction, but it might be worth thinking about anyway in this month of NaNoWriMo, when we’re all pushing ourselves to write as if the devil were at our heels. Is it possible to be too productive? I think it is, and I may have broken that sound barrier lately… to my detriment. A Case of Logorrhea We all know the cardinal rule of writing: butt in chair and fingers on keyboard. This sort … Read More »

I’m a bit of a research geek. I love learning new things. Facts. Theories. I don’t get it when a writer complains about all the research that has to be done. But I’ve found that researching the stuff I don’t know is easier than researching what I do know. Because it turns out that many things I know are simply wrong. For a story about 17th century Ireland, I huddled over maps, read the histories of the region, the politics … Read More »

Walter Joseph Schenck Jr. is no stranger to the struggle of writing. Yet how does someone who’s won many literary awards, been a featured writer in Publisher’s Weekly, and been on Kirkus’ coveted Recommended Read List more than once—a clear success—find writing difficult? Schenck took home three awards from the Royal Palm Literary Award banquet this year: The Dahris Clair Memorial Award for Plays, First Place Published General Catch All, and First Place Published Stage Play. He shares his thoughts … Read More »

The creative process between cartooning and writing is similar for this Royal Palm Literary Award winner. Dana Summers writes suspense when he isn’t working on his comic strips The Middletons and Bound & Gagged as well as editorial cartoons. His novel Downhill Fast won Unpublished Book of the Year in the 2018 Royal Palm Literary Awards after it won First Place for Unpublished Mystery or Crime and First Place for Unpublished Thriller or Suspense. Dana discusses his book and creative … Read More »