I am in a mad dash currently. I am speaking at two writers conferences in the next two weeks, so I am up to my neck in preparing workshops, figuring out how to present them online, and learning all the bells and whistles of Zoom.

As. We. All. Are.

So I shall just get the “things” going.

~ One ~

First, let me apologize for repeating myself last week. I knew it was going to happen eventually. And it finally did.

One of last week’s Things was a repeat from an earlier week.

Now I am not going to point … Read more »

I recently gave workshops on Research for Writers, (at Women Writing the West and Surrey International Writers Conference) and rather than do printed handouts, I am posting all the information here so it is readily available and clickable.

Library Love

Librarians to follow on Twitter: @surlyspice

, @superwendy

Bowling Green State University Pop Culture Library @BGSU_PopCultLib

BGUS also has an “Ask Us” feature on their website.

New York Public Library: @nypl and @askNYP

This hashtag on Twitter can be a great way to find answers to really obscure research questions: #AskALibrarian

Finding Research Books:

In my recent workshop, The Character Arc, for Women Writing the West and the Surrey International Writer’s Conference, I referenced several books and a blog post/video that I would encourage everyone to check out.

Books:

Build Better Characters by Eileen Cook

Writing the Breakout Novel and The Emotional Craft of Fiction, both by Donald Maass

The Character Arc  by K.M. Weiland

Write Your Novel From the Middle by James Scott Bell

Blog/Video post:

How to Plot Your Novel in One Page

More Books:

Because more books is never wrong. Am I right?

Here is a list of my … Read more »

A few years ago, I wrote this post and was looking it over recently as I found myself searching for a spot in my busy life to GET AWAY and just WRITE. The advice here is still relevant and if you can find a way to take time with friends and spend a weekend writing, I promise you will walk away with so much more than just pages…

Your Writing Retreat

I’ve listened to friends go on and on about writing retreats for years. Holing up in a hotel for a weekend to escape family demands and meet a deadline. … Read more »

If not, no worries. Believe me, the second half of a book is always quicker to write, especially with that shining light of “The End” glowing ever closer.

And if you have absolutely no clue what I am talking about then you aren’t neck deep in NaNoWriMo

, or National Novel Writing Month. I’ve been dabbling in it this year, but only from the sidelines as a coach and teacher. No offense, but it is a lot more fun to watch from the sidelines like some NFL coach.

Here’s me:

“Yeah, Writer, I know that hit … Read more »

Are you ready to be off and writing? NaNoWriMo–National Novel Writing Month–which challenges a writer to draft a book in a month–begins next week and so before you begin furiously writing your story, I have three tips to ensure your story keeps moving forward for NaNoWriMo success.

1. Before You Start

Prewrite. Over this weekend, consider jotting down an outline for your story. It can be as simple as setting up your Scrivener files and filling your Corkboard with all the ideas you have brimming around inside of you! You’ll find as you fill out your story, more ideas … Read more »

Why are you going to a conference?

If the first thought that pops into your head is “to sell my book” then you are going for the wrong reason.

At least IMHO. I think I’m the only person I know who has ever sold a book at conference. Oh, and Gerri Russell with the American Title contest. And even then, the decision to buy those two books had been made weeks earlier–not at conference.

Believe me, editors do not wake up in a strange hotel, surrounded by hordes of ready-to-be-published authors and think, “wow, I could buy all the books … Read more »

When going to a writers conference, you need to pack more than comfortable shoes. You need to pack your best pitch.
Because when you get that face to face with an editor, you want to rock your pitch.

Here’s how to put your pitch together with all the right elements, and get it polished and packed for a writing conference.

Don’t Fret

A good pitch will convey your enthusiasm for your project, reveal the mood of the story and create enough excitement and curiosity in the editor to entice them to request a proposal. What pitching doesn’t need to be … Read more »

This house, the Parkison House, at the Grand Encampment Museum absolutely steals my heart. I am utterly in love with it and the way it invites me to come inside, teased its way into my heart and just begs me to tell my story here. Inside these walls.

And in my own way, I am.

I am using this house for my characters, Savannah and Inola–I knew it was their home the moment I walked in. In its day, it was considered a very nice, fancy house, what with two parlors and a dining room and three bedrooms overhead, … Read more »

Since I am getting this question a lot lately, I’ve decided to start talking about what I’m working on–since it is not a romance. Not per se. It is more of a historical fiction. And a quirky one at that. The story is set at the turn of the century (1907, thereabout) in a very fictional mining town in Wyoming.

Yes, that is a bit of a departure from Regency England. Okay, make that a HUGE departure from Regency England.

But I had to write this book. This story. It has been rattling inside my head for about 7 years, … Read more »