Straight talk from the sisters about blood, sweat and ink
This is the next installment in my series on Fiction as Art. Thanks for all the well-wishes after my shoulder surgery. Typing one-handed is a bitch, however. “Ignorance is bliss,” my mother used to say. It turns out my lack of knowledge about writing was a blessing because nothing stood in the way of my …
Continue reading “The Art of Fiction: Where to Begin?”
Some like it hot, but I like it RED. In September I bought a red house. I know what you’re thinking, who does that? Someone with a secret barn obsession? Turns out lots of people love red houses and Pinterest is full of people lamenting their lack of red house. Why? Because red triggers emotions. …
Continue reading “3 Tips for Using Color Theory In Your Writing”
The traditional mystery is sometimes referred to as a cozy mystery, as I explained in last month’s The Mystery of Mysteries post on the 12 steps to writing a traditional mystery. However, that seems to be more of a U.K. designation. In the U.S., cozy mysteries have special elements that differentiate them from traditional mysteries. …
Continue reading “The Mystery of Mysteries: 16 Steps to Writing the Cozy Mystery”
This weekend is Thanksgiving in Canada, so I thought I’d blog about things I’m thankful for, you know, because that’s what this holiday is about. But instead I feel like curling up in a corner and crying. Not because my life is so awful, but because I’m not where I want to be with my …
Continue reading “7 Books That Make Me Be Thankful”
This month the Write on Sisters review two biographies. Writings about peoples’ lives goes way back. If you are not famous or important, writing about your own life (or your mom’s) may be classed as memoir. For the famous, a biography or autobiography is written based upon documentation. Primary sources are used as much as …
Continue reading “What We’re Reading: Biographies of Two Extraordinary Women”
As a business coach, I recently had occasion to research what makes people successful, and I found this great article that I’m going to steal and talk about writing – success is success no matter what business you are in, and, believe it or not, writing is a business. I’ve used his headings, but changed it …
Continue reading “Five Attitudes Toward Success”
Caryn is down for a bit after some minor surgery. Today we’re running one of her best-loved posts on the trials of writing erotic fiction. We know you’ll love this post and Caryn will be back with us all in no time. When Fifty Shades of Grey crashed into the publishing world, everyone was aghast. On so …
Continue reading “Retro Caryn: Writing Erotic Romance”
Many years ago in graduate school I taught a class on nonfiction critique writing. Most of my students had no experience critiquing another person’s writing so we spent a lot of time talking about the elements of a good critique. It didn’t take long for me to realize they needed an acronym to help them …
Continue reading “The Formula for Great Critiques is R.I.T.E.”
I started the registration process for National Novel Writing Month 2014. but I need your help to finish. You see, I have to put in the title of my book. And, well, that’s where you come in. Every year, I post ideas of books I intend to write. Then I let readers pick the one …
Continue reading “My 9-Step Planning Process for NaNoWriMo: I’m In. Are You?”
Author Ellen Mulholland nominated me and the Writeonsisters for this One Lovely Blog Award. Thanks so much, Ellen! Check out her Blog For New Writers for tips on developing characters, mapping outlines and making Scrivener your best pal. Now, the rules of this blog hop state that I am to share seven things about myself, …
Continue reading “7 Things I Know About Writing”