the Blog
It's a new year. Again. A time for resolutions and renewal. I won't pretend to be entirely optimistic given the state of the past couple of years, but I refuse to be bogged down by negativity. This year will bring what it brings, and I'll be ready. I won't sit around watching the world go… Continue reading Getting to Work
Some writers get all the luck. The huge advances, the skyrocketing sales numbers, big movie deals. With seemingly no effort, they climb to the top, their lucrative success impossible to ignore. It's hard to imagine our favorite writers toiling away like us, getting writer's block, or being stuck on which word is best to get… Continue reading Elusive Luck
It's not always easy to express what we want to say outright. People have different perspectives and ways of thinking. Our experiences are never the same, leaving room for misunderstanding and confusion. Stories place readers in the point of view to best understand what needs to be expressed. As a reader, you enter the mind… Continue reading Writing is Hard (So Why?)
Writing is hard. That's what everyone says. But the reason isn't what you'd think. It's easy to learn the rules. Most of us get the basics drilled into us in grade school. Grammar and spell-check programs help with the rest. Putting words on a page isn't difficult either. Get a prompt book, spit some ideas… Continue reading Writing is Hard (But Why?)
Being a writer is a constant learning experience. From never-ending research to changing trends, there's always something new to discover. Here's what I've learned so far. 1. Writing is easy. Anyone can pour their heart and soul onto a page, spitting out ideas while sitting alone in a quiet room. The hard part is making… Continue reading What I’ve Learned
2020 was quite a ride, wasn't it? From beginning to end, the year didn't go as planned for most of us. Will 2021 be any better? Only time can tell. I don't have any major ambitions for the new year, but I don't plan on doing nothing either. I'm choosing to adapt to the ever-changing… Continue reading Let’s Try This Again
If I wrote about my husband, I could say he's a thoughtful man who loves his kids. He's kind, caring, and a thousand other adjectives in the list of words describing exceptional men. Such telling vocabulary might make a great social media post, one most likely to be ignored by followers who simply don't care… Continue reading Creating Characters
Recently my local poetry group started meeting again (with proper precautions of course), and we critiqued poems about community. We also spent time discussing the state of communities now versus times past and how so much has changed due to current events. On my way home, I thought of how grateful I am for my… Continue reading Caring Community
I wish we lived in a world where everything was clearly defined. Protagonist. Antagonist. Noble cause. Pure evil. A world where the heroes win and the villains get what they deserve. But this is the real world. Some things are obvious atrocities while others blur in a sea of gray. Lines are drawn in the… Continue reading Written World
Left, right. North, south. Eastern, western. There's an opposite for every position, be it political, religious, or anything else. The same is true of stories. The protagonist has an antagonist. There's always a villain to face, an outlaw to bring to justice, a bomb to diffuse. The list goes on. Some antagonists are evil personified.… Continue reading Picky Perspective
Story Veins 