Another Trip Around the Sun

Here we are again: another year finished. And here’s to 2021 being a far better year for us all than 2020 ever was! Do you have any New Year’s superstitions? This year, I’m going all out. At the stroke of midnight, the house will be swept, the doors opened, and sage smudging begun. We’re also…

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays to all and a Happy New Year! December and January are when we hold our Winter celebrations – whichever you prefer to celebrate. We shut out the cold and turn to the warmth of friends and family. We eat special foods and light up the darkness and forget the weather for a few…

20 Gifts for the Writer

It’s that time of year again — time to think about the perfect gift for your writer friend or family member. Not to worry, though. Here are XX great ideas for your author. And you’ve still got nearly a week to pick them up! The Writer Emergency Pack ($14) – 26 illustrated idea cards and…

The Traveling Writer

For my sixtieth birthday (that can’t be right!), I spent a long weekend in New Orleans. COVID-19 has changed the landscape nearly as much as Hurricane Katrina: no open jazz clubs, no bus tours of the city, far fewer walking tours and everyone on edge about wearing your mask at all times. However, The Traveling…

The Aging Writer

In two days I will be 60. That just can’t be right, can it? I can’t say I’ve been a writer all those years, though I have been a storyteller since I could speak coherently. My early writing is unpublished and rightly so! However, I feel I’ve progressed as a writer until the point where…

Writing the Perfect First Page

Robin Gainey did a great webinar for my writing conference about “First Page Perfect.” Here are some of her suggestions: In the perfect first page, the main character must be sympathetic and introduced in a setting: Here are some things she recommends you not do: Robin says you should read and question. Read your story…

Query Letter Pitfalls

I “attended” a virtual query letter “boot camp” last month. Angie Hodapp talked about some pitfalls you might fall into while writing your query letter pitch — the part where you describe your story and try to hook the agent or editor. First, here are some awkward phrases to avoid: “Have you ever wondered…?” “What…