I asked myself today why I’m writing a blog — and these words popped into my mind: inspiration, ideas, empowering your creativity. I write this as a writer’s journal, not a how-to write, not craft articles, and not how to query agents and get published. You can find better authorities on those things. This is where I accumulate my own personal sources for inspiration, ideas, and empower my own creativity. This is my personal writer’s…
It’s my motto for surviving as a writer and a creative — Onward & Ice Cream! Plus, persistence and writing community. Three essentials for writer survival. One of my writer pals was even nice enough to create this graphic for me. This is my banner as I ride into battle with the hope of conquest in finding a publisher or agent to champion my writing and the many stories I’m planning.
Your novel is about to be published and you just googled ‘Promoting a Novel”. Then you became dizzy and disoriented reading all the articles. Novelists have an especially difficult time weeding through advice on book promotion because most is for nonfiction. Here’s a hint: fiction writers can build on their uniqueness.
Love stories — why do we adore them? Three reasons: 1) love is essential to every life — love of someone or something 2) stories of love help us understand our relationships 3) every love is unique. Story Genius author and master storytelling coach Lisa Cron thinks humans evolved by learning problem-solving by hearing stories. And if there’s one big problem in your life, it probably has something to do with “LOVE” — or lack…
These 5 tips for balancing your creative life and your published author life might just help save your sanity. Every day when I wake up, I wonder whether I should be the writer or the author — should I spend my time on my new work-in-progress or promote my novel, The Renaissance Club. Creating and promoting are two different mindsets, thiough both involve creativity.
Another great review of The Renaissance Club came in this week! I’m excited whenever a reader connects with the layers in the story. Reviewer Seana Graham understood the two main female characters and their quests to become fulfilled, creative people.
I was thrilled to be part of the first Women’s Fiction Writers Association quarterly Author Happy Hour, sharing secrets of success — and lots of the struggle along the way — with three other wonderful novelists who have recently published books. Click the link above to watch the Youtube! We laughed and talked about the whole process of writing and publishing, the writing life, and our own unique formulas for approaching the creative act.
Can there only be two types of characters in fiction? I’ve read many articles about types of stories, claiming that there are a limited number of stories in existence. I don’t believe it. Not for a second. There are as many stories as there are human beings — and humanity is changing all the time. But when you’re creating a character, a fictional construct perhaps based on a real person, you have to make a…
I’m thrilled to be part of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association first ever quarterly Author Happy Hour. Thursday, March 22, at 7 pm Eastern Time (4 pm PacificDaylight) I was on live video, answering questions and chatting with three other women’s fiction authors! Here’s the event link — now archived on Youtube.
Happy 2018! What are your new year’s writing goals? Someone in one of my writers groups asked me, while wishing me a happy 2018. I was shocked to realize I don’t have many. My debut novel launches on January 23 — The Renaissance Club, my time-travel love story, available now on Amazon for pre-order. I have a poetry collection coming out in August — Arabesque, from FutureCycle Press. And I’m finishing the last revision before…