“The first draft of anything is shit.” –Ernest Hemingway I’m nearing the completion of the first draft of my first chapter on my latest book. And the more I write on it, the more unhappy I am with it. One of my father’s sayings was: “You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s … More Ugly Baby
Life has its ups and downs. Writing does too. I’ve learned not to sit by the mailbox, waiting to hear from the editor as to whether they plan on publishing my story, or proceeding with my book idea. I have enough story ideas to keep me going until I am pushing up daisies. And I … More Hits and Misses
Hey there. I haven’t been posting like I used to, mainly because I am retired now. But let it be known that I’m not dead yet. I’m still writing books, teaching an occasional class, and babysitting our three-year-old grandson a great deal. I was just mowing the backyard, which is where I do most of … More Right brain vs. left brain writing
I’m sitting here in my easy chair, nursing my wounds after a tree got back at me yesterday for cutting off one of its branches. I thought I had positioned myself safely, but when the branch broke free, it smacked me square in the face and broke my nose. I ended up going into the … More A Little Cake, A Little Humble Pie
Writing is a solitary pastime, or so I’ve been told. You spend a lot of time staring at either a blank page or a blinking cursor, wishing words onto a page. “Writing is easy,” said journalist Red Smith in 1949. “All you do is open a vein and bleed.” From my experience, writing can be … More Why You Should Never Write Alone
The hard thing about writing Christian novels–and this is a self-imposed standard, mind you–is that for the novel to be good, it has to (1) have a good story, and (2) have a spiritual message. That’s not always easy to manage, and one finds many Christian novels out there that are good in one or … More Shuffling the Cards
After a year of not writing, I am back in front of the keyboard, working on book #26. I use the term working loosely for two reasons. First, because like most writers, I am finding every excuse in the book to procrastinate and do everything else but write. I tolerate that to a certain degree … More Shaking off the Cobwebs
Let me tell you a story about a book, a bear, and a beginning editor. Back in the 90s. I was just getting started as a book editor. I was given the assignment of editing a children’s book. It was one of my first books, and to my elation, it was a very good book. … More The Woeful Story of Pepper Bear
Years ago, when I was a magazine editor, I was in New York City at Folio Magazine meetings. We were starting our own magazine, and were there to gather as much sage advice as we could before we were swallowed up by the production machine. I remember the advice one editor gave us: “The hardest … More The Hardest Chapter to Write
Don’t get me wrong. I believe National Novel Writing Month–lovingly referred to as NaNoWriMo by the tens of thousands of its participants–is a great thing. I have participated seven times and have completed writing the required 50,000-word novel during the month of November five of those times. In fact, the first time I participated, I … More Why I Won’t Be at #NaNoWriMo This Year
The Great Adventure 