My new love – The Emotion Thesaurus

I have discovered a very cool writing resource. The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression, is pretty awesome. I love it. I mean, I touch it a lot, give it yearning looks, and glow when I gaze on it. Okay, so that may be a little over the top as far as showing... Continue Reading →

The craft of writing – Always a learning process

I love to write. I always have. In the first grade, I wrote a story about a princess tiger who takes a cloud train back to the zoo. The concept was a little strange, to say the least, and the illustration, was, uh, imaginative. But if nothing else, I like to look at the homemade book to remind myself of... Continue Reading →

My next big thing – or rather, two things

Generally, I like to play my "next big thing" ideas close to my chest, but I was asked to join this blog hop by the talented Paulette Rae, so I decided I'd tell you a little bit about the two books that will complete the Teen Mobster Series. If you haven't read Accidental Mobster, well, you... Continue Reading →

Eight reasons you should go to that writers’ conference…

Last weekend, I attended my first writers' conference in a while. Let me tell you, it was a good experience, and it taught me the value of meeting with other writers, as well as taking advantage of listening to and chatting with editors and agents, people who often seem so far away from my little... Continue Reading →

Ready, set, write – A few short steps to start a novel

You have it! That killer, awesome, super cool, totally-going-to-get-you-a-literary-award-and-movie-deal idea for a novel. So what are you waiting for? Get those little fingers moving. Okay, so maybe it's not that easy. We all have some pretty good story ideas. But how do you take a big, fat, fabulous idea and streamline that baby into a can't-put-it-down-or-I'll-die kind of... Continue Reading →

Original writing – it’s not what you think

Last week, I found myself in a painting class. Now, let me tell you, this was a bit of a surprise for me. When I signed up for something called Wine & Palette, I assumed I'd be eating gourmet food and drinking delicious alcohol. I'm pretty good at those things. Instead, I found myself decked out... Continue Reading →

Rules for opening the story (easier to read than follow!)

In Twilight, the carry on was a parka. In Harry Potter, Mr. and Mrs. Dursley were perfectly normal. And in Hunger Games, the other side of the bed was cold. These are the openers for three books that have taken both the publishing world and Hollywood by storm. While the stories have grabbed the minds and hearts of... Continue Reading →

Punching through writer’s block

I'm working on a sequel. It's going to be great, better than the first, I tell myself with all the enthusiasm I can muster. The problem is, when I sit down to write it, fingers poised at the ready above the keyboard, I freeze. I'm not the only victim of second-bookitis. I recently read Prodigy,... Continue Reading →

Finding the Write Time

Hey! Just let it go, alright? I can hear you groaning over my poor pun of a title. Whatever. The thing is, you know exactly what I'm talking about here, right? How can the not-quite-full-time novelist make more time for writing? The answer is she (or he) digs around in her day and finds a few spare... Continue Reading →

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