In this series, I give a brief snapshot of three unrelated books that I recently read and enjoyed. If you decide to read them too, I’d love to hear what you thought! The Category: Historical Romantic Fiction The Book: I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith In Three Words: England. Passion. Awakening. Biggest Takeaway: Cassandra, the youthful narrator, is one of […]
Make Time For Creative Thinking
When I started writing in a truly serious, committed way, I was on maternity leave following the birth of my son. I stayed home with him for two years, and during that time, my creative spirit blossomed. I didn’t have hours and hours to write (naptimes were my friends) but I did have time and […]
Give Your Characters A Personality Test
When you want to get to know someone, what do you do? Spend time with that person and ask questions, right? You find out what she likes to eat for breakfast, what makes him mad, and what makes her laugh out loud. You work from the outside in, gaining insight into his true self as you go along. […]
Valentine’s Day: Literary Couples Mash-up
With Valentine’s day tomorrow, most book bloggers will be writing a version of the “famous literary couples” post. (Last year, my version was called 5 Great Literary Lovers.) I’m going to put a twist on it this year by matching up five couples who never met in the literary world. Some were written centuries apart, but that […]
How To Edit Like Musicians
Today I have a guest post on bestselling author Laura Vanderkam’s blog about how to practice smarter. The material is gleaned from my experience as a musician and music teacher, and the lessons I’ve learned about productivity that can be applied to writing as well as other hobbies. The post below is a companion of sorts. […]
Seasonal Effective Goals
Did you make New Year’s resolutions this year? Did you set goals for all of 2015? How is it going so far? I hope you have better answers to those questions than I do. My answers are: yes, I did make resolutions; yes, I set goals for the entire year; and no, that wasn’t the […]