(If you don't have time to read this whole post and only want to check out the book blurbs, feel free to scroll down to the end where you'll find both descriptions.) Remember how last week I was basking in the happy sunshine of having (kind of sort of) finished my next two novels? Remember … Continue reading The Torturous Writing Task: Book Descriptions
The Funny Side of Writing Fight Scenes
If you’ve read any of the books in my Osteria Chronicles series or some of the parts of Domna, you may have noticed several pages are filled with action-packed fighting. Whether it’s Hercules cousin, Iolalus, battling a hydra or Theseus going toe to toe with the minotaur, my fight scenes have (hopefully) provided you as … Continue reading The Funny Side of Writing Fight Scenes
Read Your Way to Better Writing
What do writers like to do most of all? Okay, besides dream of red wine (or other tipple) coming directly from the faucet tap. It's reading! Writers LOVE (or should love) to read. And the best part about this love is that, unlike the possibility of ever-flowing wine, reading will help you be a better … Continue reading Read Your Way to Better Writing
All Hail the Glorious Outline!
This week brought about an excellent opportunity to break out my Happy Dance Shoes and kick up my heels in ecstatic, delirious, over-the-moon-with-elation joy because The Outline is complete. As you may remember, several weeks ago I had to break the sad news that Book Three of my fantasy series will not be published this … Continue reading All Hail the Glorious Outline!
Creative Writing 101 With Kurt Vonnegut
Ever since I decided to read Breakfast of Champions in high school literature class instead of whatever bland tome the teacher had assigned, I have loved reading anything by Kurt Vonnegut. (By the way, the teacher, a Vonnegut fan himself, let me get away with - and even encouraged - my little protest.) From Slaughterhouse Five to … Continue reading Creative Writing 101 With Kurt Vonnegut
Papa’s Writing Advice
I hadn't planned on doing much of a writing post for this week's Writing Wednesday, but sometimes the blog gods play nice and toss me a bit of blog-o-rific inspiration to share with you. And that little doggy bone of inspiration showed up in the pages of Hemingway as I was doing a bit of … Continue reading Papa’s Writing Advice
The Forgotten Query That Must Be Remembered
No, that's not the title of a new fantasy novel, although it does have a nice Lord-of-the-Rings-You-Shall-Not-Pass ring to it. Instead, the Forgotten Query That Must Be Remembered was my most recent writing dilemma and one I hope to never have again. The Backstory Last March I was asked to do a presentation on my … Continue reading The Forgotten Query That Must Be Remembered
Grammar: Your Biggest Writing Mistake
One of my favorite scenes (of which there are many) from the television show Sherlock with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman has Sherlock interrogating a prisoner in a very chilly room in Belarus. Already looking bored and annoyed, Sherlock's frustrations mount as the man he's questioning keeps making grammatical errors. Sherlock lets the first one … Continue reading Grammar: Your Biggest Writing Mistake
Draft Four: Over the Novel Hump
On Wednesday I started Draft #4 of The Voyage: Book Two of The Osteria Chronicles and I can't tell you what a relief it is to have reached this stage. Draft #4 is so many things, at least in my writing process. Some folks say you shouldn't bother with doing more than three drafts of … Continue reading Draft Four: Over the Novel Hump
