Small Town Views

I made a comment a while back that it turns out I need to clarify. I said that when I went off to college in the Big City, I didn’t know how to use an elevator, and apparently created a vision of a youth spent among cargo cults or the Amish. “We went into a

My Alter-Muses

I’m taking a class with D. D. Scott about getting inspired, and we did a fun exercise where we named our muses. Pick out that spark inside ourselves that gives us ideas, and think about what feeds it. What makes him or her excited and what’s a total turnoff? What do they do for fun

A Corpse, a Cop, and Canines

The story began at Alanna Coca’s blog. Chapter 4 Anthony growled a low warning and hoped the wolves would keep their distance. It would be scary enough for any human to have the pack circling. And this one was a nonbeliever—if anybody decided to shift before taking on the cat, Jessica’s night was about to

Alternate Versions

This is one of the prettiest Christmas carols I know, and I love the effect even when performed in two very different styles. Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming It’s a very old song, and it’s a toss up whether the traditional feel is better conveyed by a sweet and ethereal children’s choir or a

Writing Is Like Jogging

There are so many parallels, perhaps I should go further: writing isn’t just like jogging, it is jogging. (And a word to the kids in the audience: jogging is what the old fogeys call running.) Writing is like jogging: You really feel it after a day off. It takes three to six weeks once you’ve

Fantasy Baseball: Jill Shalvis’s Double Play

My recreational reading this summer has taken a backseat to my new membership on Twitter. (I’ll pause here so you can lay in firewood or whatever your personal preparations for the apocalypse involve—the beauty of the interwebs is we’ll be here when you get back.) I decided to check it out because a writer friend

An Interlude with a Ukelele

Late night insomniac thoughts . . . I’ve got the “vacation’s over and my brain is still packed” blues— I’d take off another week, but what would be the use When I go to buy the ticket, my brainless self would have to choose Between a week in Minnesota or the beach in Newport News.

Fun with Character Names

You can get some heavy thinking on how to name the characters in your book. This kind of attention might be warranted for the main characters, but depending on the story there could be quite a cast list, and an author could let herself get bogged down trying to name everyone who needs one. Facebook