Straight talk from the sisters about blood, sweat and ink
*In my first novel I must have changed the name of my protagonist ten times and that’s before I wrote a single word! I finally began the first page with a name I thought would serve my character well. However, I hadn’t really met Sarah yet. As I’ve explained in prior posts, my characters take …
Continue reading “Naming your Babies”
I have a new crit partner who just happens to be a line editor and might be a reincarnation of my dreaded high school English teacher, Mrs. Howard, although I’ve never actually met him in person. Mrs. Howard resembled a bag lady and according to urban legend she apparently wound up as one. A ragged …
Continue reading “He Said What? Direct vs. Indirect Speech”
Writing dialogue is the heart of my writing. A scene always takes shape in my mind with two or more people having a conversation. I put the dialogue to paper and then add the physical setting, background details, emotions, inner monologue and body language. It’s the only way I know how to write. As I’ve …
Continue reading “He Said, She Said: Writing Dialogue”
I love fairy tales, which is a sad confession for a 1970s feminist and a woman of reasonably advanced age. But once upon a time, my favorite babysitter gave me what soon became a treasured Christmas gift: SHIRLEY TEMPLE’S FAVORITE FAIRY TALES, or something like that. She knew I adored Shirley Temple after having seen …
Continue reading “The Anatomy of a Fairy Tale: True Confession”
As a former teacher of biology and chemistry, I’m reasonably learned in the sciences and had been a teacher for several years when one day my Assistant Superintendent paid me a visit. “Wayne’s taking a leave next year and I’m assigning the AP Bio course to you,” he announced. “Sure,” I said, “be glad to…” …
Continue reading “Surviving the Biology of Negative Feedback”
My last post explained how I became an author. I had the inspiration, the enthusiasm, the passion to write; imagination and story-telling my forte. I’m reasonably well-educated so I figured I didn’t have far to go to master the finite skills to get published, right? Well, no. One of my first lessons came from my …
Continue reading “The School of Hard Knocks: Learning the Craft”
The old adage, ‘Writers are born, not made,’ is something I believed, well…until I didn’t. And I’m taking this statement literally as in that newborn baby snuggled in an isolate could write something amazing if he could get to a laptop. I’m sure there are people who are born to write, but I think it’s …
Continue reading “Writers are made, not born. Girl on Fire!”
In the olden days (maybe five years ago?) an author relied on the publisher/agent to promote and market their book. It was part of the package deal and could be hit or miss. Some books were marketed aggressively, some not. Not exactly sure why. The advent of social media has revamped the landscape and the …
Continue reading “Build a Platform. Then Jump Off!”
Learning how to write a great query letter is almost as important as writing a must-read manuscript. If you don’t have a fabulous query letter the chances of ever hearing those wonderful words: “Send me your full manuscript!” are just about nil. When I finished my first novel, I searched the Internet for a query …
Continue reading “The Question is? The Elements of a Great Query Letter”
Sometimes I think I’ve hurled more pitches than a major leaguer. And I’ve struck out nearly as much. Only that’s a good thing for a pitcher, not so good when you’re trying to sell a manuscript. There are two ways to pitch: in a query letter or in person. Of course a query letter is …
Continue reading “Strike Three! You’re Out! Throwing the Perfect Pitch”