I’m doing my best to eliminate paper from my writing process. At this point, the only paper that’s still around are the notebooks (and Post It notes) for my car and purse. I [...]

When it comes to writing, we all tackle things different ways.  We outline or don’t outline.  We focus mainly on plot or mainly on character.  We revise as we go or wait till [...]

My mother is, right now, my only first reader.  I think only a mom will put up with being asked to drop everything and read a book from start to finish because the [...]

I’ve had a few people ask me to run more writing links here—and for some reason I keep forgetting!  I post probably 25 or more writing links a day on Twitter, but that [...]

What is it about writing that makes us reluctant to admit to doing it? You’d think I could easily explain that I’m a writer by now. But usually a couple of times a [...]

Today I’d like to welcome author Stephen D. Rogers to the blog. Stephen is the author of SHOT TO DEATH and more than six hundred stories and poems. He’s the head writer at [...]

A couple of days ago, I was busily clearing out the weeds and grass that encroached on the kids’ sandbox in the backyard. “What are you doing?” asked my son. I frowned at [...]

Y’all have caught me at a bad time—I’m really feeling the need to do some spring cleaning (it’s very springy here now in North Carolina), but I’m smack dab up against a huge [...]

My children are both in Scouts. It’s been a great experience for them—they get to try new things and build self-confidence and self-reliance. The only thing I dislike about it? The selling. I’m [...]

My husband is a computer whiz. He does something so complicated at work that I don’t even understand it enough to explain it. I’m pretty good on computers. I’m much better than many [...]

I’m sure that everyone reading this blog has been affected in some way by the hobbled global economy. Whether it’s a friend or family member who’s lost a job, benefit cutbacks due to [...]

Last Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, I took a trip to the North Carolina mountains with my father. My sister and her husband were in Blowing Rock part of the time, too. Taking trips [...]

I’d like to welcome L. Diane Wolfe to the blog today. As a professional speaker, Diane travels extensively for media interviews and speaking engagements, maintains a dozen websites & blogs, manages an online [...]

I thought I’d do a short post on chapter breaks today—because I’m currently going through my manuscript and sticking them in, so they’re on my brain! As I’ve mentioned a couple of times, [...]

I love doing small things to recognize holidays—even St. Patrick’s Day. But I went too far when my daughter was in kindergarten. Remembering the tradition that involved the leprechaun playing harmless pranks on [...]

My husband and I had a rare night with no kids last weekend…our son was camping and our daughter was spending the night with a friend. We didn’t exactly know what to do [...]

For some reason, it took me a long time to figure out what worked for me and what didn’t with my writing. I kept trying to use techniques that other writers I knew [...]

“A midlist author is one whose books are well received but have failed to make a commercial breakthrough; whose work sells solidly but unspectacularly, who’s well known within the writing community but the [...]

This is a meme that’s made the rounds but I thought it made a good point about character perspective—and maybe getting another character’s second opinion on our protagonist’s point of view. In an [...]

Thanks Elizabeth, for hosting me on your (terrific) blog. I’ll try not to alienate any of your regular readers. Every writer has his or her own unique style/method/routine. There’s not a right way [...]

Surprises are one of the fun things about having kids. You just never know what they’re going to do next. And you sure as heck don’t know what they’re going to grow up [...]

With the different deadlines I face, writing every day is a necessity. But even before I had deadlines, I wrote every day—just a smidgeon. If I didn’t, then it was even harder the [...]

Hi everybody! I somehow double-booked myself today with guest posts. :) I’m both at Deb’s Powered by Books blog where I’m posting on the pros and cons of our characters coming to life, [...]

So y’all know my philosophy toward writing a first draft—get the thing thrown on paper. Don’t stop to edit. Don’t stop to research. Don’t stop to think up last names for these characters, [...]

I’ve gotten to the crazy point in my association with Twitter that I think everybody is on Twitter. It’s amazing how quickly the application messes with your mind. I thought I’d post some [...]

Do you know how you have so much going on and there are small things that you mean to check on, but they slip through the cracks? Then you remember them again…then you [...]

Today, I’m welcoming Hart Johnson to the blog. Hart is currently working on the third book of her Conspiracy trilogy and blogs at Confessions of a Watery Tart on writing, digressions, and her [...]

Blogging is one of my favorite activities. Whether I’m reading blogs or writing them, or tweeting about them, I feel like I’m learning an incredible amount from the process. I blogged daily from [...]

I’ve noticed that many people I know view life through a lens. Some of them use a political lens—they look at everything in relation to politics. Many use religious lenses. There are some [...]

My now eight year old daughter was in preschool for a couple of days a week to give me a break—and some time to do some writing. This always seemed to work out [...]