Today is the last day of October, and tomorrow morning marks the beginning of National Novel Writing Month. For those who know NaNoWriMo, you’re know what’s going through my mind right now. Anticipation. Excitement. Wonder if I am making a terrible mistake. It’s a major commitment of time, energy and patience–both of you and those … More Last gasp. NaNoWriMo, here I come!
It’s a good news, bad news scenario. First the good news. I finally am making time for writing–my writing, the stuff that ruminates in the back of my mind when I am busy doing other stuff here at the University. When I am writing articles for Southwestern Spirit magazine, playing webmaster, teaching classes or sitting … More Over the Hump
I’m under the weather today. Body aches, tired, etc. I could blame it on a lot of things–getting older for one. My wife try to get up at 5 each morning with the intention of exercising, but for one reason or another it doesn’t always happen. We chose 5 because she works in Fort Worth, … More Garbage in, garbage out
It was my turn to get up with the dogs, so when they started barking at 7 a.m. on a Sunday–which is actually sleeping in–I rolled out of bed, threw my grubbies on and got up to feed them. After that, I propped the back door open and went into the study to do my … More Finding a Safe Place to Die
A year or so ago, I had gone home for lunch, and was returning to work in my truck when a vulture vomited on me. That’s not usually what one would expect when driving to work after lunch. I looked up through the window just in time to see the vulture’s steaming, stinking lunch sail … More Stuff Happens
From a marketing standpoint, success in any endeavor where you’re selling a commodity is primarily a matter of linking the right audience or customer with the right product. There are two ways to do this. One way is to develop a product and then find someone to buy it. The plus of this is that … More Finding Your Audience
A month or two ago, I had a fellow Tweeter ask me what Christian suspense was. I politely told them that Christian suspense was just suspense writing with a Christian theme. That got me to thinking about a question that came up in my blog about a year ago: Is there such a genre as … More Is There Such a Thing as Christian Horror?
Years ago, back in the Stone Age, I used to write music. I started while I was a student in Austria, namely because I had access to my roommate’s guitar (without his permission) and no access to a radio. Later, when I was back in the U.S., I kept it up and formed a Christian … More Just the Right Words
I just got finished watching “A Thousand Words,” a movie featuring Eddie Murphy. The story is about a book agent who develops a psychic connection to a mysterious tree. He discovers that for every word that he says–or even writes–a leaf falls from the tree. He determines–with the help of a holy man–that when the … More A Thousand Words
Week six in my Drama Writing class, and we are making the transition from stage play writing to screenplay writing. As I have said from the very beginning, we are blessed with two great textbooks, and I am learning a lot not only about scriptwriting, but about novel writing as well. One of the words … More How Spectacular Are You?
