Beth Barany is back with us and here’s the first of her two part blog about creating great characters for your story…. Many authors want to get to know their writers better before they write their novels but don’t know where to begin. One way to get to know them is to interview them. I love…
Author: This Writer's Life
Monday Motivation-What’s Your Passion?
I know you can interpret quotes in many ways. However, as a writer I like to think this one means if writing is your truly you’re thing and it’s that thing that excites and you can wait to sit down and write then you’re going to get the work done. I also think you’ll be good…
Friday Ramblings From An Author-Shame Yourself and Get It Done
One thing I did over the break was look at all the work I’d started and never finished. Articles half completed, stories with just a few sentences, a book half written, and some non-fiction books started last year… The list goes on and I hadn’t realized how many unfinished projects I had. I was suddenly…
Dear Susan-Should I Quit Writing?
Our first Dear Susan post of the year. Joy sent me this e-mail… I’ve been writing for five years, sent out what seems like lots of stories. I know I’ve been close to getting published a few times but it doesn’t seem like it’s ever going to happen. Any advice about when I should…
Wednesday Writing Prompts-A Staircase to Where?
Our first writing prompt of 2019 and it’s all about a reoccurring dream your character is experiencing. He or she keeps dreaming about the same spiral staircase, night after night… What does your character think it means? Is it a good or bad thing for them…maybe a memory from the past? Or does the staircase…
Story Length-Does it Matter?
Say hello to the first guest blogger of 2019, Barbara Plum whose post takes us back to our school days… Remember those dreaded high-school English themes? Did your teacher, when asked about length, compare the assignment to a skirt? “Long enough to cover the subject. Short enough to be interesting.” Say what? How does this…
Monday Motivation-Perfection Not Required
Let’s kick off the writing year this quote. Lots of writers stumble or give up because they think the first draft has to be perfect. It doesn’t. Sometimes the second draft stinks too but that’s okay, that’s the lesson part of this quote. No one starts out as a bestselling author. Give yourself permission to…
Friday Ramblings From An Author-2019-The First Ramblings of a New Year
Happy New Year to you. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. So are you ready for a new year of writing? We’ll be back to the normal schedule next week starting with Monday Motivation. Anything you’d especially like to see on TWL in 2019? I’m thinking about Saturday seminars that will focus on one particular…
Friday Ramblings From An Author-2018…that’s a wrap
Welcome winter (or summer…I know many of the TWL followers live in Australia and New Zealand). Another year is slowly becoming history. It’s the end of the work year for me. I’m planning to take a two week break from most of my usual writing activities. There will not be a Monday Motivation or Prompts for the next two weeks, but…
Goal Setting for the Pantster??
Say hello to our last guest blogger of the year, Shannon Nemechek… Goal setting for the pantster? Sure, why not?? As a pantster born and bred there has always been one GOAL- well maybe a few but basically my number one goal has always been write, write, write. I have tried to plot but…