Tag: writers

Motivational Moments… for Writers! #1

2A.girl.write..mouse_1Writers!  Start your day with a little writer’s jump-start.  You can do it!

Procrastination is just a word.  Write one new word, one new sentence.  Breath!  That sentence should make you want to write another.

What?  Why? When? How? Where does that sentence lead you? Breathe. It doesn’t have to be perfect…it’s the first draft.  That’s what re-writes are for.

‘Writers aren’t exactly people, they’re a whole lot of people trying to be one person.’
– F. Scott Fitzgerald


Sign up for my blog and receive your ‘Motivational Moments‘ twice a week! Simple: type your email address in the box on my Home page (top/right). Click on ‘subscribe’.writer

 

‘As a writer, I marinate, speculate and hibernate.’  Trisha Sugarek

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS featuring INTERVIEWS with  best-selling AUTHORS! In April, a long awaited interview with Kathleen Grissom (The Kitchen House) May’s author is Jordan Rosenfeld.  Michael Saad, Canadian author, will be June’s author. Robyn Carr is July’s author.

To receive my posts sign up for my blog, blogs, blogger, writer, author, playwright, books, plays,fiction  On the home page, enter your email address.  Thanks!

Time For More Famous Quotes

1a.Headshot.TS.259x300It’s been quite some time since I gave my readers some of my favorite quotes from famous writers…those people that inspire me to be a better one.  Maybe this weekend, after reading these, YOU will write something new or go back and rewrite something old or write a piece of poetry that you were afraid to lay down on paper.

Or maybe these quotes will just make you smile…

Kipling‘I keep six honest serving men. (They taught me all I know); Their names are What and Why and When and How and Where and Who.- Rudyard Kipling  (I can’t let this go by without commenting on Kipling’s colloquial term of ‘honest serving men’. He spent decades in India.)

‘I have this feeling of wending my way or plundering through a mysterious jungle of possibilities when I am writing. This jungle has not been explored by previous writers. Istaffordt never will be explored. It’s endlessly varying as we progress through the experience of time. These words that occur to me come out of my relation to the language which is developing even as I am using it.’- William Stafford (I am particularly fond of this quote.)

‘In Ireland, a writer is looked upon as a failed conversationalist.’- Anonymous

Reade‘Make ’em laugh; make ’em cry; make ’em wait.’- Charles Reade

‘No tears and the writer, no tears and the reader.’Frost– Robert Frost

Bukowski.
take a writer away from his typewriter
and all you have left
is
the sickness
which started him
typing
in the beginning. ~Charles Bukowski
13100851_981224385260025_1889747640246000883_n

Elizabeth Barrett Browning ‘Many a fervid man writes books as cold and flat as graveyard stones.’- Elizabeth Barrett Browning

‘This morning I took out a comma and this afternoon I put it back again.’- Oscar Wilde

 

green‘Thought flies and words go on foot.’- Julien Green  (this is why I type 80 words a minute)

 

‘What I like in a good author is not what he says, but what he whispers.’- Logan Pearsall Smith
‘Writers aren’t exactly people, they’re a whole lot of people trying to be one person.’
– F. Scott Fitzgeraldfitzgerald

‘The truth is, we’ve not really developed a fiction that can accommodate the full tumult, the zaniness and crazed quality of modern experience.’- Saul Bellow

‘Writing is one of the easiest things: erasing is one of the hardest.’- Rabbi Israel Salanter

Bukowski.
‘The free soul is rare, but you know it when you see it – basically because you feel good, very good, when you are near or with them.’ – Charles Bukowski

 

1.Creative.Write.BookCoverImage
Journal/Handbook by Trisha Sugarek

 

and I’ll finish with a not-so-famous quote:
‘As a writer, I marinate, speculate and hibernate.’   Trisha Sugarek
……that is, when I’m not beating up the writer in me with a large stick in the shape of a pencil. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DON’T MISS BLOGS featuring INTERVIEWS with  best-selling AUTHORS!   In April, a long awaited interview with Kathleen Grissom (The Kitchen House) May’s author is Jordan Rosenfeld.  Michael Saad, Canadian author, will be June’s author.

To receive  my  blog, blogs, blogger, writer, author, playwright, books, plays,fiction  sign up on the home page and enter your email address.  I love comments!  Take the time to write one at the bottom of the post.

 

Edit Thyself, Writers!

char.analysisI just finished reviewing a poorly written book and it demonstrated the fact that writing a book is not all glory and self satisfaction at seeing your name on a book, as its author.

Far from it!  It’s grueling, damn hard work. Any one of you out there can write, the trick is writing well. It’s being willing to rewrite and rewrite some more. And then edit: does this word, sentence, chapter move my story forward?  Would my character say this? Sound like this? Behave like this?

Then there’s the delete anxnst.mousekey. Horrors!  Delete some of my brilliant writing?  Yes.  You better be willing to give up some of those self-proclaimed brilliant words and be happy about it.  Because when it’s said and done your book will be better for it.

How do you get from writing that first sentence to a finished book?  In my opinion, there is no right and wrong way to prepare.  I write my first draft from the seat of my pants; with just an idea that’s been rattling around in my head for days. No plot line, no story line, and in the case of my true crime series, I often don’t know who my killer is until later.  I will let my characters take me on their journey and the killer will always revel themselves to me.
I marinate, speculate and hibernate. Continue reading “Edit Thyself, Writers!”

Interview with Susie Drougas, Author (part 2)

Drougas.9.DSC03787Q. When did you begin to write seriously?

SD. I began my Dusty Rose series and published my first novel in 2014, Pack Saddles & Gunpowder. Over the years I have published several articles for the Back Country Horsemen state magazine, The Trailhead News. I worked on newsletters for our local chapter and I was told by a number of people that the only reason they joined our chapter was to get the newsletter and read my stories. That really made me start thinking about my book, and just maybe I could do it.

Q. How long after that were you published?

SD. I’m a pretty methodical person. When I make up my mind to do something, I put out maximum effort to see it through. I began writing in 2013 and finished and published my first novel in 2014.  As I mentioned, I am a freelance court reporter. I take depositions and have often found myself in a room with several accomplished, high-powered Seattle attorneys with several million dollars at stake—shouting and arguing over each other. I have to keep them in line to maintain the record. It is not for the faint of heart. But I will say, going the first time to my writer’s group and reading my work to other people was the scariest thing I have ever done. Beats anything else in the terror factor. Continue reading “Interview with Susie Drougas, Author (part 2)”

Dreams Do Come True!

It took me two years of gentle prodding to finally get my foot (in this case, scripts) in the door of a Manhattan (NYC) book store. This drama book store has been around forever and is the only exclusive script store in the City.  To use the buyer’s expression, “we just have so much real estate” so I am doubly grateful that my books are included in their limited shelf space.

Cyber.Hate.BookCoverImageJust today I filled another order for my scripts and Journals.  Theatre people and writers are BUYING my books and using them.  I couldn’t be more thrilled.  And I’m always surprised by what is selling.

And just recently a  publishing house contracted with me to publish Book 1, The Art of Murder, in my true crime series. Not for a second will I discontinue my self-publishing of my other books.  It is a highly efficient and successful way to get your books out to the reading public with very little cost to you, the writer.

Ten.Minutes.Curtain.Vol.ICover3,200_

 

 

Possession.BookCoverImageWRITERS!  Never give up!  Sometimes it will take you years of perseverance to achieve your goals. The three top tips that I can give you is:

  1. Never stop writing!  You will only become more skilled in your craft.
    2. Keep knocking on doors, whether it is a brick & mortar book store, a publisher, or a literary agent.
    3. Self publish.  It’s free on some sites to build your book.  Your only cost will be the royalty when a book is sold.

    CW.Cover.Scan
    Best Seller!

 

 

 

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DON’T MISS BLOGS featuring INTERVIEWS with  best-selling AUTHORS!       Julia London, Matt Jorgenson, MJ Moores,  and actor/narrator Tavia Gilbert.  March’s featured author is Susie Drougas and long awaited interview with Kathleen Grissom (The Kitchen House) in April.

To receive  my  blog, blogs, blogger, writer, author, playwright, books, plays,fiction  sign up on the home page and enter your email address.  I love comments!  Take the time to write one at the bottom of the post.

 

What’s in your St. Valentine’s Day Box?

writers, interviews, valentine day, authors,                  My St. Valentine’s Day box is full of authors willing to take time out and be interviewed!    This month, we digress a little with a charming interview with a book narrator.   Audio-books are all the rage now, what with our busy lives,  and professional actor/voice over artist, Tavia Gilbert will let us into her world.  March’s guest author will be Susie Drougas whose modern day mysteries takes us into the wilds of Washington, atop a horse.

Three years ago I began interviewing best selling authors and to my ever-lasting gratitude, they accepted!   Dean Koontz, Sue Grafton, Patrick Taylor, Sheryl Woods, Mark Childress have all graced the pages of my blog!

It doesn’t really surprise me that the authors are relating similar experiences that I have had in my writing life. Characters taking the story in a whole different and unexpected direction.

Dean Koontz: “…if I give characters free will, if I don’t plot out the story and instead present them with a problem and watch them deal with it, they begin to take on a life of their own, frequently surprising me with the choices they make. This is mysterious and exciting.” Continue reading “What’s in your St. Valentine’s Day Box?”

10 Steps to Becoming a Better Writer

image of 10 Steps to Becoming a Better Writer PosterCompliments of Brian Clark, CEO of Copyblogger

This is so true!  I bang out stuff that never sees the light of day.   I vent on a new post that I never publish.  I keep post-it note pads everywhere in the house so that if I get an idea (some good, some not so much) I can jot it down.  My most valuable post-it note pad is by my bedside because frequently I write in my head in a dream-like state and too lazy to turn on the light, grab paper and pen, I say to myself, ‘oh, I’ll remember this when I wake up’ I never do and IT IS GONE FOREVER!

In the middle of the night I ‘dreamed’ a single line for a poem I was working on…..“an overachiever  dips into the nectar….” and yes, I turned on the light and wrote it down.  When I awoke in the morning the only thing I remembered was that I had a terrific line for my poetry but had no idea what it was.  Fortunately there it was by my bedside.

“Write When You Don’t”….I tend to marinate.  Continue reading “10 Steps to Becoming a Better Writer”

An Interview with Author, Matt Jorgenson

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAMatt Jorgenson – the author of Extraordinary Ostriches, Possible Particles and the Bifurcated Homunculus, The Hermaphroditic Shaman and the Missing Bottle of Ketchup, and Coagulation – A Clot of Stories.  The titles alone should intrigue any reader but what really fascinated this blogger  was that Matt has hung canvas on his wall, at home, so visitors can express their artistic bent while there.

Q.  Matt, where do you write?

MJ. I do the bulk of my writing at home with my laptop. There’s a chair in the den/dining room I use when settling in for a long session. There’s a pub table in the kitchen I switch to when I’m on a roll and family obligations need to be juggled. It’s good to switch back and forth between the two as it’s easy to stand up and work at the pub table. I do little isometric exercises to stave off the aches and pains of prolonged sitting and get my blood pumping. When traveling or trying to break through a tough plot point I will break out a legal pad and a pen and write long hand. Cars, hotels, the basements of extended family members, and bars are some of my favorite places for this approach.

Q. Do you have any special rituals when you sit down to write?

MJ. Big glass of ice water. Hot coffee. Wordless music, typically EDM or House. Since I tend to write fast-paced, intense stories I find that a high level of beats-per-minute in the ambient music Continue reading “An Interview with Author, Matt Jorgenson”

More with best selling author, Julia London (part 3)

Julia in Ireland
Julia in Ireland

Q. and the all important: What does the process of going from “no book” to “finished book” look like?

(con’t. from Part 2)  JL.  From there, the manuscript is improved over and over again with subsequent rounds of editing by me, by an editor’s notes, by copy editors who catch inconsistencies that, unbelievably, neither me or a developmental editor caught. So the finished book has been massaged and manipulated many times over. At least in my experience.

Q. How has your life experiences influenced your writing/stories?

JL. Just living life informs the writing. I meant what I said about having to be in the world to understand it. It would be very easy to never leave my house, to sit in front of a computer all day. But I won’t allow myself to do that. I have an active lifestyle, I travel, I have an extended family I love and that has been dysfunctional from time to time. Continue reading “More with best selling author, Julia London (part 3)”

How to Write a Novel….the writing Process!

writing, blog, authors, create

……is there a wrong way??

NO!  There is no ‘wrong’ process when writing your story….but, as I and other authors (I’ve interviewed here on my blog) have stressed….be certain that you HAVE a process.

1.  Write about what you know.  If you are a beginner…and we all were at one time…write a story about something you know or have had first hand experience with.

2.  If the idea of writing a novel  (75,000+ words)  is way too daunting,  write a short story (3,000 words) or a series of short stories.  Write a novella. (16-25,000 words).   After writing three full length novels, I decided that my mystery series The World of Murder would be short novels.  I didn’t run out of story,  I just believe that there is a market for short novels (24–35,000 words).

3.  If your subject is something that you know nothing or very little about the Internet is a powerful tool.  Let me give you some examples:  My aunt ran away to Alaska in the 1920’s to homestead.  I knew her story but I knew very little about Alaska at the turn of the last century.  What did Fairbanks look like then?  It was little more than a trading post.  How many acres did you get when you homesteaded?  80. What tribe of native Alaskans were in my story-area and what language did they speak?  Were there hunting ‘tags’ or seasons for hunting in those days?

Another example are my murder mysteries that are heavy  on police procedures and crime scene investigation.  I know a lot but certainly don’t know everything.  Between the Internet, local law enforcement and the Medical examiners,  I have pretty much everything I need in the way of research.  Book #4, The Angel of Murder is about the Catholic religion and confession.  I am not a Catholic so I called my friend’s priest, Father Gabe, and he was incredibly kind and helpful.  DON’T BE AFRAID TO ASK FOR HELP!  I asked a private detective and a priest, BOTH STRANGERS, and they gave willingly of their time and knowledge.

4. What if my writing process is wrong?  NO!  There is no wrong process. Just be certain that you have a writing process.  Whether it’s with meticulous outlines and story notes or just writing from your gut. My personal process is this:  An idea forms and begins writing itself in my mind.   I joke about ‘slamming  my story down first’.  It’s more than an outline (which I don’t use) and less than the finished product.  I type 80 words a minute so when I say I slam it down, I mean I slam it down.  I frequently write out of sequence.  Sometimes the Epilogue is written before the end of the story.  Sometimes the prologue is written after the first few chapters. That’s WEIRD’, you say?   No, not really,  the story such as it is at that point is feeding me.  Right now, AA.Cover.bridgeofmurderas I am writing Book #6, The Bridge of Murder, some chapters are un-numbered as I’m not certain where they fit, only that they are part of the story.

5.  Have people you trust read your manuscript.  They aren’t standing as close to it as you are.  But, be certain that they can look at the work and give a constructive critique.  When I say trust, I’m not talking about them stealing your work,  I’m talking about trusting that they will be honest with you.  I have two such people in my circle;  one in particular.  He is honest and wants the very best for me and out of me.

6. Poor Man’s Copyright:  I’ve done this for years.  When I have four or five pages of a manuscript completed, I make up a title page, date it and then mail it to myself.  When you get it back in the mail, be certain you DON’T open it.  Just tuck it away in a safe place.  Courts (if it ever came to that) will honor the post marked and unopened envelope.  Of course you have saved the date of the saved draft of the first time you worked on it in your computer.

7.  Re-write, re-write, then re-write some more!   Read your work over and over.  You don’t have to read it from start to finish….that will make your eyes cross and make you want to give up.  Read sections,  edit, re-write, make it as good as you possibly can.

Want to learn more about developing rich and interesting characters?  Want to try writing a little poetry or a Haiku?  Want to learn more about that all important ‘first sentence’ of your story?  Check out my Creative Writer’s Journals.  There are six ‘how to’ sections and 275 pages of lined, blank pages for your writing.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS featuring INTERVIEWS with  best-selling AUTHORS!     
To receive a free audio book and my  blog, blogs, blogger, writer, author, playwright, books, plays,fiction  sign up on the home page and enter your email address.  I love comments!  Take the time to write one at the bottom of the post.