Can’t remember where I heard this acronym but it stands for Butt In The Chair, Hands On Keyboard. I like to remind myself that writing is a pleasure, not a chore. I always greet my chair as if a good friend. “Hello writing chair. Is this a good time? I have some great ideas that I would like to run past you.” I try to anticipate my needs for the next two hours. Use the […]
It’s a fine line … How do you know when you write too much versus not enough? Many authors feel the need or obligation to drone on about every detail, with characters that have very little to do with the story. We love when they help us to see, to hear and even to smell the main characters. However, if Mary’s mother’s aunt isn’t a main character, we don’t need to know that she had […]
Character Development Today’s blog is about character development. This is one of my favorite topics. Some people can pick up an instrument, and in 30 minutes, they can play it. Others learn a new language as easy as I learn a new card game. Some authors’ strength is developing a great story or a brilliant use of the language. For me, it’s character development. I can see them, I can smell them, I can feel […]
Too often my writing had to be postponed due to a lack of time. Work is busy, the house needs repairs and I really could use a haircut. If there was time left at the end of the day, I would sneak in a few lines. It’s hard to get a groove going a few lines at a time. I had to decide that my writing was important, that it was worthy of claiming a […]
A good editor will not be easy to like. A good editor will ask you to delete a section of your book that you believe is wonderful and necessary to the story. A good editor will tell you to add another chapter between chapter 4 and chapter 5. A good editor will ask you questions like “Did you even bother with spell check” and “Do you think this paragraph makes sense to anyone other than […]
Watch people, notice what they do with their facial expressions, their hands, and their body language. Notice that slight head shake back and forth when someone is totally disagreeing or disgusted with everything being said. Notice the squinted eyes, tight lips just before retaliation. Capture the folding of the arms and the nervous sniff the boss makes after he just put you in your place in front of peers. We all know someone with a […]
I imagine that many authors write the chapters like an outline and then write their book according to the outline. For those of us that are not so organized with our thoughts and write on the fly, it won’t be clear when to go to the next chapter, let alone what to call it. Too often my chapters are called NEXT CHAPTER until the rough draft is finished. Only then can I read the book […]
So, you have an idea for a book. You’ve heard yourself say it a dozen times, “I have an idea for a book” soon to follow is the word “someday” It’s the opposite of smoking. Instead of stopping “cold turkey” you have to start “cold turkey” You don’t even need to start at the beginning. Start at your favorite place. “The train was now up to 80 mph and passengers could be seen praying. A […]
It’s a fine line … Many authors feel the need or obligation to drone on about everything even if it has little or nothing to do with the story … “Mary’s mother’s aunt had long twisted fingernails. Her manicurist only worked on Saturday’s blah, blah, blah,” Others skim over an interesting or important topic too fast. “She was pretty” How do you know when it is too much versus not enough? My suggestion is to […]
Writing is not for those of you that are too easily offended. I remember overhearing an in-law talking on the phone about my first book “Reckless Ambition”. “He thought he would write a book and everybody would buy it. I hear it was a flop.” She doesn’t know that I heard the conversation. It was that day that I decided I would write for myself. If no one else read my books, it would still […]