Advice from Professional Writers (3)

Over the past four years or so, I’ve been collecting bits and pieces of advice given from writers who have made their mark in the writing world. Today, I’d like to share suggestions for self-editing. I know that not everyone can afford to take editing classes, but you can develop a routine to polish your

One Way to Create the Characters for your Story

Developing characters for any piece of fiction is both challenging and fun. Where else do you get to build a person from the ground up? As a writer, you can create these characters to be likable or not. They can be handsome/beautiful, rich/poor – whatever WORKS for your story. Some of us are lucky enough

Some Tips on Writing a Mystery/Crime story

As the deadline for submissions to the 2021 Indie Authors’ Mystery/Crime Anthology draws near, here are a few tips for those who are struggling with the concept and deadline. Your story could fall into one of the following categories: 1.    Mystery fiction includes police procedurals, private detective, and cozy mysteries. A crime has already been committed (usually a

One way to Rewrite Dialogue and Make it Stronger

As writers, we all know that one of the most important elements of our short stories is the dialogue between our characters. Readers can learn a lot about the characters when dialogue is used as a tool. The following steps are ONE WAY that I use to edit any sections of dialogue in my stories:

What exactly makes a ‘Professional Writer?’

Above all else – writing is a skill, and like all skills, it needs to be nurtured and cultivated.

Do All Writers Need Vision Boards?

I’m the first to admit that the idea of a ‘vision board’ doesn’t fit with my writing style. The visions I have in my highly imaginative brain are quite enough to feed my storylines, but after researching the idea, I’m slowly leaning the other way. Supposedly, a vision board is a valuable tool. There are

Do you have Writer’s Burnout?

Okay, I’ll go first. YES – I have a form of Writers’ Burnout that is quite alarming. For the past six weeks or so, every time I write a Blog post, I get tired – or distracted – or suddenly feel like I must do something that takes me away from my den AND keyboard.

2020 First Quarter Goals – did you meet them?

Is anyone else blown away because the first quarter of the year is almost over? Turning the page of my calendar this morning hit me flat on the face and left a mark. When did this happen? And where did the time go? Where are you in the projects you outlined for the new year.

Come join me on a journey into the writing process, grammar, and techniques.

Decided to move my site to WordPress

Started a new challenge from a mentor: 1000 words a day for 28 days Writing every day isn’t anything new to me. It is, however, something new that I’m actually going to keep track of how much I write. Sure, some days I will work on my blog and some days I will work on