How to Write and How to be a Writer

How to Write and How to be a Writer

The two are somewhat different. There are lots of writing books out there. It seems after a certain number of years writing, each author tries to capture the essence of their craft and art. I first did this in the early 90s, which, yikes, is a while ago. My first...

Preparing for NanoWrimo?

November is when many writers go into hyper speed and participate in Nanowrimo. It stands for National Novel Writing Month. It doesn’t mean you have to write a novel in a month, but it’s a way of helping people set goals and encourage each other to write....

On Covers and the Importance of Title

Perhaps the biggest mistake I made early in my writing career involved titles. I’d never gone to a writing conference or had any classes on publishing. I was living overseas in the Orient, studying martial arts. This was pre-Internet– yes there was a time...

Every Author is Different based on the Three P’s

Product, Platform, Promotion. We all rate differently on those three, therefore any writing advice we get has to be factored through our own personal situation. One size does not fit all. I call my book on writing a Toolkit because I don’t believe there are any...

Characters: The Heart of Your Story

What’s your favorite book? What do you remember about it that makes it your favorite? Was it the plot? Or was it character? One of mine is Lonesome Dove. Read the first chapter and tell you don’t know who all those characters are by the end of it and want...