January 8, 2014

Last year’s Christmas gift is still one of my favorites.  My daughter gave it to me (via my husband). She actually saw the item a couple of days before Christmas when she was starting to get worried that she would not get me anything in time. Ol’ hubby told her he had already taken care…

January 1, 2014

50+ years of experience I’ve been gathering experience for 50+ years I have already been told numerous times I was wrong and proved that I was right. I have been wrong before and survived and I will again I have paid my bills, and when I didn’t, I learned to pay them the next time….

February 27, 2013

The Coming of Age format is often used for YA novels because the main character is often a young character, usually on the verge of coming to terms with the difficult realities of life.  It is also not unusual for the main character to be an adult, one with a rather innocent view of life. …

February 20, 2013

Fame & Fortune, but at what cost? Using a tried and true narrative mode to set up a story, as mentioned in last week’s post, is quite useful.  The Faust Legend is another popular format.    If you are familiar with the old movie Oh God, then you have seen it used in the more modern…

February 13, 2013

Boon Organizing your novel or story around a narrative mode can help your story follow a reliable framework and ensure you maintain your reader’s interest.  The heroic journey is a great narrative structure to follow and is one of the most popular in use, just check out every Pixar movie. The heroic journey calls for…

February 8, 2012

I have read A Tale of Two Cities numerous times and have made notations up and down the margins north, south, east and west.  The reading of it always mesmerizes me with the detail and development of character, setting and connection, of what has gone and what is to come. “Do you particularly like the…

December 29, 2011

What is the most important tool for me as a writer?  That is easy: a keyboard.  I mention this as I have noticed that over the years of owning various computers that the keyboard letters are fading more quickly with each new purchase as I upgrade. In essence, as I upgrade the computer, technology seems…

December 21, 2011

I have always been a believer in the idea that there are things that are specifically made to fit a situation or need, but one can always come up with a bypass if that item is just not available. This is how I manage to deal with computers that don’t want to work or when…