Yesterday was Infinite Possibilities Day. I love that word. Possibilities. In fact, it may be my favorite word. Doesn’t it just sing of magical unknown treasures and adventure as it rolls off the tongue? I picture each day as a vast space filled with boxes of all sizes and shapes. Some […]
writing
Paint Your Story With All the Colors of Your Voice
How many colors does your writer’s palette hold? Why would you choose to use only one? Listen carefully, and your characters and scenes will show you the colors to use in harmonious storytelling.
Make Sense of Your Life
Analyzing NaNoWriMo Lessons Learned
As I type this, NaNoWriMo 2016 moves into its final hours. Some of you who participated have completed your word count and downloaded your winner’s certificate. Others are manically pounding the keyboard, determined to beat the midnight deadline. And many are nowhere near 50,000 words and have given up hope of flaunting a winner’s T-shirt. […]
How Do Your Characters Handle Adversity?
A while back, I wrote a post about using the lemons life hands you in your writing. Maybe it’s time to expand on that idea. The past two weeks, I’ve been helping my sister after she underwent major surgery. As we discovered what she could and could not do, how she felt after normal daily […]
Your Biggest Question About Editors Answered
Who knew all you writers out there were so shy? No one wanted to ask a question this week. So, here’s the number one biggest question I get in person when someone asks what I do. “Why should I pay a professional editor for something my spouse/friend/next door neighbor/pastor/librarian can do for free?” (Or I […]
Take Time to Build the Layers
This morning saw the end of more than fifty hours of low, thick fog surrounding my house. By noon, the last traces of it disappeared, revealing a cold, gray sky. Weather forecasters said layers of snow created the fog. And the lack of any trace of sunlight for three days kept it in place. That […]
Fresh Year, Fresh Approach
Don’t you just love a fresh new year? They’re full of exciting possibilities. But we sometimes fail to see that until we grab our usual work habits and writing choices, and give them a good shake. Kind of like an early spring cleaning. My year has started off with a few twists I didn’t expect. […]
Happy New Writing Year!
8 Ways to Use the Seasons to Spice Up Your Story
Yesterday a flock of geese flew in a low jagged line across my property, their discordant honking filling the air. I watched them pass from sight behind the walnut tree that chose that moment to release of drift of leaves from every branch. These signs catapulted me into the realization that a new season is […]