One of the websites I’ve gotten quite fond of is quora.com. It’s simply a forum where people can ask questions or go and answer other people’s questions. I get asked a lot of questions about writing there, and get to ask professionals questions that help me in the writing of my books. Yesterday someone asked … More Beyond the Big Picture
“I see my mind as a cluttered desk.” —Me, not too long ago. In case you didn’t know, I just came back from a week-long Alaska cruise. My wife Shelly and I visited Juneau, Hubbard Glacier, Sitka, Ketchikan, Victoria, British Columbia, and then back to Seattle. It was something that I had to talk my … More Vacating the “Cluttered Desk”
It’s been a slow beginning to summer. Graduation was last Sunday, and even though I have been looking forward to being free of classes for weeks (months?), the many duties and obligations that have shackled me have kept my mind strapped down more than I care to admit. I told myself that Monday–last Monday–would mark … More Rude Awakening
The only time I’ve ever gone in for counseling was when my father was dying for cancer. Half a dozen trips to the psychologist, and I realized that the best therapy was simply writing about it. I started writing short stories as therapy and starting getting them published as a side benefit. But what do … More Therapy
In a perfect world, someone who wanted to write (me) someone who had the aptitude to write (again, me), someone who had the ideas to put on on paper (once again, ME) would be able to find the time to do so. I have author written after my name here and there. I have book … More Reality Bites
Sometimes the words fall easily from the keyboard and you find yourself serving as some sort of transcriptionist for the angels. It would be nice if every book was written that way. Most of the time it is the other way. You get out the hammer, the chisel, the tongs. You break a nail. You … More And…We’re Rolling…With a Grunt and a Groan
They’re words that writers–and their audience–don’t like to hear. It’s when you can’t find the words to put on paper. Dry spell. And I’m facing that’s where I am. Last night I listened to NPR talking about the Giant Sequioas in California, many of them thousands of years old, that are in danger now because … More Dry Spell
It’s almost the end of September, which means November is just around the corner. And if you’re a writer you know what that means…. National Novel Writing Month. Yup. Don’t know if I have the courage yet to try it again this year, but I have done it five times before and succeeded four times, … More Ping Pong Writing
I just got to my office after spending the early morning (1) hacking out the first few words in my part of our new novel; and (2) struggling to understand how to make Scrivener work for two authors long distance. As I have mentioned here before, my next book is a co-authored project with Celeste … More From Vermont to Egypt: The Co-Authoring Adventure Continues
It’s interesting the relationship authors have with their books. I’ve heard it described this way: First a book is a lover, then a bride, then a wife, then a demanding wife, and finally a harpy that you wish would just die. A bit morbid, but that just about covers the gamut of the emotions one … More Torn Between Two Lovers
