When I was a kid in the late 1970s in Anderson, South Carolina, I’d sometimes have to go to the drugstore with my mother. This was not a fun trip for me. Other [...]

I was driving back from having lunch with my husband yesterday when I saw a little tableau playing out on the side of the road. Well, the road was actually a major highway [...]

Yesterday I wrote about books and manuscripts with wooden prose and a flat delivery. Ways I thought a writer could jazz up the writing a bit were by changing the voice, revising the [...]

Have you ever run into really flat writing? It’s the kind of wooden writing you see from many non-writers. Desultory, lifeless. There’s no passion at all in it…just a straight narrative. A retelling [...]

My daughter was a little bored yesterday afternoon, so I offered to play a game with her. I didn’t want to play a long game with her (like Monopoly), and it happened that [...]

As I mentioned on Thursday, you don’t have to spend a lot of money to become a better writer. You can use your library card and get more information than you can ever [...]

Yesterday I stretched myself a little. The stretching exercise involved the garbage disposal, which spitefully kicked the bucket on New Year’s Day, following a visit by my husband’s family. I grabbed the phone [...]

I decided to make resolutions for myself in July. I needed to set some goals and that was just the time to make them. Here are my resolutions and how I fared. Originally [...]

You don’t have to spend a lot of money to become a better writer. That’s a good thing because most writers don’t have a ton of money to throw around. The library has [...]

Time for all the year-end retrospectives. I sort of like them…but sort of not. So mine is more of a recap of things I learned this year and resources I gathered. January—I discovered [...]

I’ve frequently been guilty of tunnel vision. I’m very Type A, and to me, staying the course sometimes means completing a project or train of thought. You’ve sent me a Christmas card? You’re [...]

Have you ever watched something unexpected happen? My now-8 year old daughter was a cute baby. She was roly-poly and liked singing to herself in baby babble. Her hair stuck straight up and [...]

            Cool: Tell your friends your mother writes books. Have them convinced you’re a liar. Have Mom verify later she actually does write. Maximum impact! Your name is [...]

This post functions as a follow up to the last one. What if you do need your protagonist to go down into a dark basement? I think most readers agree that one thing [...]

What makes a good protagonist? This is a pretty subjective question since different readers like different types of heroes and heroines. But I see some common traits among the protagonists I admire: They’re [...]

Like many writers, I’m a huge fan of books. If I hear a recommendation, I’m there. The library has made it so easy for me—simply sign in online, request a book, and go [...]

I think back to why I became a writer to begin with. It all started with a germ of an idea…multiplied by a hundred. Two hundred! Notebooks full of ideas: good ideas, rotten [...]

I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable leaving my comfort zones in the last couple of years (especially concerning public speaking, signings, appearances, etc.) And then I just got satisfied with where I was. [...]

Someone wrote a wonderful post on gift wish lists and what our characters might want for Christmas. I hunted through blogs on my Google reader, but couldn’t find the link. (Getting even foggier [...]

Somewhere in the Southeast I am being unusually low tech. And probably feeling a little anxious. I’m on the Christmas tour—seeing friends and family before heading back home for the big day. My [...]

I’d promised my daughter I’d take her to the mall, one of her favorite places. I wonder sometimes if the stork brought me the wrong baby; she and I are so different. I [...]

I’m always looking for something for my 7th grade son to read. He gobbles books up instead of savoring them. And—he’s a picky reader. He’ll read 30 pages and, if he isn’t grabbed, [...]

Wednesday afternoon, my daughter finished her math homework, started her spelling, then completely lost her focus. I decided she could take a one hour play break (she’s only eight) before picking it back [...]

I think that mystery writers must have a very carefully suppressed criminal mind. Apparently I look like a really innocuous person. Plus, maybe, a little foggy. I’ve ordinarily got my mind on other [...]

I’ve always taken gender stereotypes with a grain of salt. I was tempted, even, to claim that gender roles were determined primarily by socialization and environment. Keeping this in mind (and also having [...]

The biggest moment in my writing career came with the realization that I wanted to be published by a traditional publisher. Once you realize that you really want to take that step…what do [...]

Every day the online community of writers amazes me. I get so much encouragement and inspiration from the blogs that I read and from the wonderful commenters on Mystery Writing is Murder. Among [...]

I’m getting the most interesting reader perspectives from my new book club. At first, I had no intention of joining this club. As a rule, I don’t join clubs. I’m not really sure [...]

I’ve been reading a lot lately about problems that happen when we try to be perfect or apply Type-A standards across the board in our life. I’m definitely Type-A. Sometimes perfectionism goes along [...]

I’d had a wild day but was on-time, no…early!…for a play that my daughter’s friend was in. I parked the car, opened the door, and—“Oh shoot! We were going to pick her up [...]