A frequent tip you'll hear in writing workshops, seminars, and blogs is to include the senses in your descriptions. One workshop I attended mentioned trying to include all 5 senses on every page. I took this to be a bit of an exaggeration, as that would be a LOT of description on every page. But... Continue Reading →
Sarai’s Fortune – Drafting & Editing
With each book I write I find that my method keeps getting more complicated (or detailed maybe is a better word) as I learn more techniques that are effective for my writing. I also find that the "mistakes" I've made consistently in the past I'm not making so much any more. So the good news is... Continue Reading →
How Writing Is Impacting My Reading
Although I've been writing most of my life, the last two years are what I consider my "serious" writing time. During this time, not only have I written seven books in that time, but I've taken countless workshops and put a lot of effort into improving my writing as I go. One of the activities... Continue Reading →
Rewrites: Changing a Scene
When I was going through the first rounds of Andromeda's Fall and received the first critiques back from Wendy, I realized that I needed to a change a big scene in the story. At a guess, I'd bet most (if not all) authors have had to go through something like this at one point. You... Continue Reading →
Virtual Trips: Finding a Setting for Andromeda’s Fall
I have always been a mountain girl. Born in Colorado, raised in Texas, but visiting the Rocky Mountains every summer. I could spend the rest of my days in the mountains and be a happy girl. (The beach not so much). It's this love for the mountains which inspired me to set my first book,... Continue Reading →
What’s another way to say… ?
I frequently run against a scene where I repeat a word over and over again. I try very hard not to do this, and Wendy is great a catching times when I did without realizing it. In fact, it drives me bananas when I find it in books, or worse, song lyrics. Sometimes, you have... Continue Reading →
Getting That First Draft Done
Ironically, I haven't posted a blog in a few days because I've been procrastinating on writing this one. LOL. When I started self-publishing I was in the middle of my MBA, working full-time for a large tech company, and raising my kiddos. Writing happened as my stress release after the kids were in bed and... Continue Reading →
Workshops Resolution… Check
One of my New Year's resolutions this year was to continue to improve my writing through various workshops. We're a little over 1/2 way through 2014, and I've taken nine workshops so far this year - one or two each month. I have tried for a mix of topics from various sources. All of them... Continue Reading →
Research: Texas Dancing
When I wrote Hyacinth, I included a scene where my characters go to a bar/dancing. I originally wrote it with dancing like I did in college - which was not club style (mostly). At my editor Wendy's suggestion I changed it on the realization that my characters in that book wouldn't do the type of... Continue Reading →
Insta-Love: Love It or Hate It?
Guest Post Re-Post: Originally posted 6/30/2014 as a guest post on Coffee Talk Writers - part of my Black Orchid blog tour organized by Masquerade Crew. *** I have a theory about who loves and who hates insta-love. I have been reading romance novels of various sub-genres (contemporary, paranormal, teen, etc.) since I was about twelve years old.... Continue Reading →
