I got into writing because I like doing it. So why is it I get to do so little? I’m now working on the second draft of my next novel, and it’s going a lot slower than I would like. This is mainly due to all the many other things I need to do. Marketing, in one form or another, takes up a lot of time. It just gets so frustrating sometimes. But if I don’t do it, people…

I finished the first draft of my latest novel this week. While I was tempted to call it a piece of crap, I decided doing so wouldn’t be fair. Instead, I realized it just looks odd because it’s not finished. Kind of like the framing of a house. It doesn’t keep the rain out, and it’s got holes you could drive a truck through. But it gives my ideas a shape—a form. A place to meet my characters and…

New Article on Medium I’m trying my hand at writing some articles on Medium.com and my first one is up. This one talks about how I carved out time to write. Hopefully, there’s a tip in there you can use. You can find at this link on Medium.com…

I ran across this quote and thought it appropriate for the state of my life. I’ve recently been given more time to do some writing (among other things), but now I have to figure out how to use it efficiently. Every second is precious….

I’ve been doing some final edits on my latest WIP. There was one passage that didn’t feel exactly right, so I started trying different combinations to improve it. After spending a couple of hours, I got it to where I was satisfied, only to realize it was pretty much the same as the original. Anybody else have that happen?…

Originally, I didn’t feel I was very productive in my 2022 writing life, but when I reflected back on what I’d accomplished, I changed my mind. A Study of Curses, a companion book to the Coren Hart Series, came out on January 26th. Around mid-year, I revamped my web site, and later on May 18th, I managed to also get out Monday After the Apocalypse. Finally, in December, I finished writing my latest work in progress, and it is…

I recently had a small detail turn into a hugely important point in my latest WIP. I was merrily editing a scene where the main character was looking in a mirror and doing her final check before going out. In my description of what she was wearing, I kept thinking I was missing something. I initially attributed it to me being male and to just go on. It was just a detail anyway. Right? But it bothered me. As…

Had this conversation recently. Sound familiar?…

Queue the music. I’m at the halfway point on my new WIP. I usually do three major drafts of a novel (there are LOTS of tweaks in between). So when I get to this point, I say I’m halfway there. How do I know? I track my daily progress. I am a firm believer in writing every day. At the end of the session, I log the number of the page I am currently working on and the last…

I just finished the first draft of my current work in progress. As is typical for me, I like to become more familiar with the less filled-out characters before heading into the second draft. I usually do a sort of interview with them, where they tell me a little about themselves and fill in some of the blanks. I do this while typing the conversation, and if I’m lucky, I might get a bonus scene out of the discussion….

My wife is a quilter, and we frequently compare notes on our respective crafts. We’ve found there to be quite the similarity between the two. Recently, I was watching her lay out her quilt’s pattern. She would move entire blocks to different locations to get just the right combination of colors and shapes. It struck me that it’s the same problem writers face when crafting their stories: trying to get their scenes and characters in just the right place…

I’ve been spending a lot of time world-building, outlining, and developing characters for my next novel. It’s easy to get lost in this process, playing with ideas and detailing minutia. But at some point, you have to put the proverbial pen to paper and actually begin crafting. I’ve already written several novels, but it’s still a little scary. Will the magic come? Will it work for the reader? Well, you never know until you start….

You know those days. The ones where you have to get a bunch of things done. But your muse says, “Write for just a few minutes. It won’t hurt.” So you do and go on to your next chore. Only, your muse tags along and distracts you with whispers all day long. “What if the heroine said…” or “What if the villain did this…”. It gets so bad that you sit down at the end of your day and…

Some days you sit down to write, and the words just flow. But other days, it’s a struggle of epic proportions. My brain is lost in swirling mists, and my muse has abandoned me. Then that devil procrastination whispers in my ear, and I am sorely tempted to leave my post. But I fight on, struggling to bring words to the page and a story into existence.  Because defeat is not an option….