Where do authors get story ideas? We can draw from many sources: the news, people we meet, injustices we see or experience first hand, and perhaps even other works of fiction. For me, it usually boils down to what stirs my heart. Recently someone asked me where in the world I got the idea for […]

Recently, I took a big chance with the protagonist of my Tracking Jane series. I gave Jane McMurtry a strong, regional voice. Though she has an English degree, part of her character rebels against correctness of many sorts, including the sort imparted to her inside a classroom. And she talks as she wills. That’s part […]

Sometimes we over-talk about this rules-based stuff. Why? I think it’s easier than talking about what really matters. Don’t get me wrong. Let me get this out right up front. Rules are important to make sure we don’t hurt ourselves and others. I like rules and the purpose they serve. I really like rules that […]

Today I address one of those topics that keeps coming among writers: pantsying vs. outlining. Or, as I prefer to term it, you know, to avoid derisive language, Organic vs. Planned writing. As the title to this post suggests, I like mine organic, than you. Why? Let’s work through a few pointers. If you want […]

As a reader, I find few things as annoying as a protracted, slow-moving, data dump of a flashback. For me, flashbacks tend to halt the progress of the narrative — as in, I hear the sound of screeching tires right before the thing hits an immovable concrete wall. For this reason, early on in my […]

You would think that after I posted my polemic about not counting words but making words count, that would settle the matter (yes, that’s a joke). Yet, a couple of days ago I ran across yet another blog posting about the need for word count quotas. We’re all different, and I’ll avoid the fallacy that […]

Did I make a mistake when I set my writing aside to self-express myself through photography? Having returned now to the written word, I have been contemplating — I do that a lot — what if anything I can take from photography into my writing. Did I waste ten years of my life during which […]