Craft
Organizing: Does Multitasking Make You Stupid?
Computers are faster and smarter and more efficient than ever. They run at gigahertz speeds, using gigabytes of memory, giving you giga power to get things done. Even so, once in a while, most machines seem to freeze for several seconds, stuck in some mysterious inner world that you know nothing about. If they’re so fast and so smart, why should…
Writing is Editing
Writing is editing. You accept that. But do you love it? Well, do you? You’re staring. Am I serious? Love editing? How can I love that? If you want to continue as an author, it’s time you learned. It surprises me how many people only think of editing as a career. Editing isn’t merely grammar and…
Teen Fiction Online Writing Course Next Week!
I’m excited about the teen fiction online writing course I’m offering next week. I’ve wanted to offer online writing courses and webinars for a while, but time, lack of tech-know how, and my personal perfectionism has prevented me from doing so. Last summer I offered THIS writing course in my home to four eager…
To Sleep or Write?
by Tanya Dennis The kids are finally asleep. I just kicked off a second load of laundry, straightened the living room (for the fourteenth time today) and cleaned the bathroom. Exhausted, I ignored the dirty dishes in the sink. It’s 9:27 PM, but it feels like 11. I should write. I should work on that…
Where Do You Get Your Ideas?
Guest Post “Where do you get your ideas?” Why is this seemingly innocent question so often cited as the most annoying to creative people? As the first question to come to mind, it is over-asked and comes out sounding thoughtless, both of which are enough to make it bothersome. Beyond that, questions about ideas are…
Finding Your Writing Voice
by Mick Silva It may not seem so, but in their early days, all authors were builders. Much as we might like to believe someone could slap down a suitcase of money to buy that beautiful mansion, it doesn’t work that way. No one moves into a house they didn’t build. Of course, everyone tries…
Studying Emotions in Life & Writing Through Friendly Fire
I woke in the middle of the night to the rooster crowing at the moon. Strange but true. Poor pea brained birds don’t know the difference between the moon, a bright light bulb or the sun! Later, and still before the sun had risen, I woke again to the sound of a single gun shot.…
From Mount Vernon Estates to The Smithsonian: How the Setting of Buried
“No estate in United America is more pleasantly situated than this.” – George Washington, 1790 Ever wonder where an author gets an idea for a story? The idea for Buried Deception came in 2005 when my family took a three week homeschool tour up the East coast. Mount Vernon was one of our stops. I…
Marketing: 10, 100, and 1000 Dollar Work
So you’ve got a book coming out and the marketing director at your publisher calls you up, very excited about your book. You’re excited too, until she tells you all the things she wants you to do to promote your book. Put up a web site. Create a blog. Make a Facebook fan page and…
Using Your Bachelor of Arts Degree to Launch Online Writing Careers
When you earned your bachelor of arts degree, you may not have been quite sure of what you were going to do with it. The intent of the degree is that it will allow students to explore a range of subjects, some of which may be familiar, and others that may be entirely unknown. In…