Characters are what stories are about. Plot is essential—we had to have a story to tell. Something has to happen, something that matters to you, the readers. But it has to happen to someone we care about, or identify with, or connect to in some way. That connection has to happen on an emotional […]
Last post, I wrote about how I cut down on some of the stressors in my life. One of them was a particular freelance client for which I wrote blogs and social media content. Letting that one go was necessary for my health. My blood pressure was through the roof, and I felt wrong about […]
A lot of time has passed since my last blog post—four months. A third of a year! To tell you the truth, often during the first two months of that time, I wondered myself what was standing between me and updating my blog. I put it down to having too much other (paying) work to […]
This #spooktober, I’m re-publishing some light, Hallowe’en-related stories. This one first appeared on another blog some years ago, and I present it again here for your spooky pleasure. Let me know in the Comments whether you liked it. The power went out with drawn-out squeaks from every electronic device in the house. Rodney noticed the […]
Ebola. Totalitarianism. Pandemic. Mass migration. Climate change. Terrorism. Judging from hyperbole in social media, we are out-and-out terrified of these things. Even to the extent of people getting angry at climate activists for “spreading fear.” We’re afraid of fear, like Franklin Roosevelt said. And yet, at this time of year, we choose to scare ourselves […]
Fantasy lovers, despair not. I’m making good progress with the sequel to my first-published novel, The Bones of the Earth. As regular readers will know, it’s titled The Triumph of the Sky. It continues the story of Javor, the young Sklavenic man who was pulled into a strange war he could not have imagined. […]
From what I have heard on the news, I know I speak for a lot of Canadians on this following. While we are happy to share what we have, please don’t think that buying the prescription medications in Canada, or in any other country, is a solution to the high drug prices you pay […]
This is a guest post that originally appeared on my former Blogspot blog. It was written by Scott Morgan, who at the time owned the Write Hook: Writing for the jugular blog and was the author of Character Development From the Inside Out and Short Stack. It seems that Scott has since quit the writing […]
I love book signings, sales and other events where I can talk with readers directly. Last year, I did a bunch of events. Some were terrific, with lots of traffic and interaction. Some were … not so much, where I sold one or two books. But still, the experience was positive enough that I have […]
This instalment of “the best and worst” is by mother, author and blogger DG Torrens. Her blog, My Books and I, covers the writer’s experience as well as book reviews and previews of her own book (kind of like this one). I have also contributed a guest post on her blog. But read this one […]