“No battle plan survives contact with the enemy.” —Helmuth von Moltke the Elder I’m a lifelong fan of the Oakland/Los Angeles/Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders. And for those who have followed the NFL for the past two decades, our team has seen better days. One of the comments I get used to hearing after a loss is: … More Great Ideas, Poorly Executed
I am a regular contributor to Quora.com, the website that answers all your questions and asks you to contribute answers–if you have any. As a decades-long writer and someone who teaches writing, you can guess what I answer questions about. One of the questions that I get frustrated with are people who continually ask how … More Writing and the Value of Downtime
I consider myself a creative person. I also consider myself a disciplined writer. Trouble is, they don’t necessarily work together. When a creative idea comes to me, it often has no logical connection to anything that I am trying to accomplish at the moment. Which can be problematic, of course. Case in point: I am … More Creative Distractions
I remember getting very discouraged as a beginning writer when I read, “You’re not a serious writer unless you write every day.” I understood where they were coming from. You had to make it a habit. You couldn’t just wait until you were inspired to write. But the reality was–like so many other writers and … More The Pros and Cons of Immersive Writing
Every year I look forward to summer, telling myself that it will give me the opportunity to hole up in my house and spend some quality time writing. Well, guess what. My teaching situation has changed. As of Monday, I will be teaching the rest of the semester from my study in my office. Shelly … More Be Careful What You Ask For
I have a colleague here in the English department at the university where I teach, and early on in my efforts at writing novels I passed several of my books in front of him. No more. One time, I passed the first chapter in front of him and then asked him what he thought of … More Does Your Story Have a Soul?
Just wanted you all to know that I am giving away 100 ebook copies of Soul Survivor, my first book in the Heretic series that came out a couple of months ago, on Goodreads. Here is the link to the giveaway: .goodreadsGiveawayWidget { color: #555; font-family: georgia, serif; font-weight: normal; text-align: left; font-size: 14px; … More Time for a Giveaway!
“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again, there is nothing new under the sun.” –Ecclesiastes 1:9 NIV. Pretty much every writer has been asked the question, “Where do you come up with your ideas?” And the answers range from the honest, “I have no idea,” to an explanation … More How to Come Up with an Original Idea
Over the years, it’s my privilege to rub shoulders with many creative people that I have learned from. One of my recent colleagues was Kyle Portbury, filmmaker and scriptwriter who shares an Emmy win with me that we won a year ago today. One of the stories he tells is of a famous scriptwriter–whose name … More Stuck? Consider the “Dora” Approach to Writing
I’m invested in National Novel Writing Month for what I think is the seventh time. I’m not doing as good as I should. I think I have just over 9,000 words written. I can blame it on having a more challenging book this time, one that calls for me to research every time I turn … More “This Above All: To Thine Own Self Be True”
