Posts Tagged ‘writing’
Holidays = writers’ daydreaming time
Ah, holidays. Even if it doesn’t necessarily afford the extra writing time one might have imagined, it almost always is an ideal time for the daydreaming so important for planning and plotting your next novel. It’s helpful to step out of daily routines, and to have a more fluid schedule someplace new. This always helps…
Read MoreThe importance of backstory in your fiction
Over at the excellent Writers in the Storm blog, author Kathryn Craft has an excellent post entitled Backstory matters. Backstory is one of those controversial issues today. While you certainly don’t want to dump all of a character’s backstory into the opening chapter (since it tends to slow down the pace), you do need to…
Read MoreHow do you keep track of your story ideas?
Over at the excellent Nathan Bransford blog, there was a great question for authors: How do you keep track of your ideas? This isn’t as easy as it might seem. Writers are – by their very nature- daydreamers, and they may have lots of ideas flitting around in their heads at any one time. Any…
Read MoreMaking room for your writing
This helpful article was in the last issue of Writer’s Digest. Its author is the women’s fiction novelist Amy Sue Nathan, who also hosts the popular Women’s Fiction Writers blog. Nathan offers some helpful insight into how to carving out time and space for your writing, even in the midst of the overwhelming demands of…
Read MoreHave blogs gone the way of the milkman?
Over at the excellent Nathan Bransford blog, Nathan poses an intriguing question about why personal blogs have been disappearing: I miss the blogosphere Not being cool and trendy, I admit that I didn’t know that I’ve apparently slid into hopeless frumpiness. I love writing my blog and reading the blogs of others. Yes, I learn…
Read MoreDoes absence make the heart grow fonder … for your own writing?
Usually when I finish work on a novel, I set it aside and work on something else. Since I also write short stories, I find this a nice way to break from my longer projects. Then, when I’ve had a little time to distance myself from my work, I return to my project and start…
Read MoreLondon’s calling … all lovers of short stories
There are many reasons to visit the cosmopolitan city of London. But for lovers of short stories, 18-21 June 2015 is an ideal time to make it there, since these are the dates for the London Short Story Festival. There will be lots of the big names in short stories attending, speaking about their craft…
Read MoreBest websites for writers
Writer’s Digest came out with their annual list of the best web sites for writers. Many of my favorites made the list. Others I didn’t know of, but will have to explore. Here are some of the sites I enjoy that made this year’s list, and hope other writers will find useful: Nathan Bransford :…
Read MoreAre you on Goodreads?
Are you on Goodreads? I discovered the site a couple of years ago, and it helps me with my reading ‘addiction’ – providing me with lots of suggestions and recommendations for books that should be on my to-read list. I’ve discovered lots of fantastic suggestions thanks to Goodreads, and the fellow readers I follow there. I’m always…
Read MoreWork-in-progress wants YOUR opinion
I was thrilled when my blogging buddy, the talented YA author Evelyne Holingue, tagged me for the Work-in-progress challenge. Through her blog post, I discovered that Evelyne is not only a prolific YA author, but she also writes essays on her experiences as a French woman living, working, and raising her children in her adoptive…
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