By Henry McLaughlin I’m a writer. Been at it for a while now. And I’m still amazed at the power of words. Words make us laugh and cry. They make us feel emotions we may not experience in our normal life. Words introduce us to new worlds and new people. They inspire us to seek more of who we are …
A Typical Week in the Life of a Novelist
By Deborah Raney One of the things I love most about my job is that there is really no such thing as a typical week. My work tasks change from week to week, depending on where I am in the deadline process, and I love the variety and the fact that, unless I’m on a tight deadline, I’m able to …
When A Town Becomes a Character
By Lisa Schnedler There are towns that you visit—or perhaps ones you have lived in—that are so unique, so special, that they seem to have a personality all their own. When a town has a distinct personality—and is the backdrop of a novel—the town itself becomes a “character” in the story. Bentonsport is such a town and is the setting …
The Agile Writer’s Mind
By MD House What is the difference between having a fertile mind and an agile mind? As writers, or rather, creators of linguistic art, we boast a great deal of creativity and ingenuity. We may rightly be said to have fertile minds. But what about agility, and how do we define that? In a physical sense, we think of agility …
5 Tips for Speaking at Your Local Library
by Lisa Jordan After my debut novel released over ten years ago, a close friend mentioned her book club was reading Lakeside Reunion, and she asked if I’d talk at their get-together. I agreed and enjoyed the conversation. One of the book club attendees worked at our public library and asked if I’d be interested in speaking to another book …
Finding a Work-Life Balance
Turning sixty kicked my butt. I’m not certain why. Birthdays have never held much significance to me, and anyone who knows me knows I am more likely to forget my birthday than to celebrate it. But sixty? It started me thinking. Time was slipping away. Twenty years goes by in the blink of an eye, and before you know it, …
How HiFi is Your Hi-Fi?
By Gordon Saunders That is: How High Fidelity Is Your Historical Fiction? Historical fiction is tricky. On the one hand, you must tell a great story. On the other hand, you mustn’t rewrite history. Or mustn’t you? Because if you read lots of biographies and historical commentaries, you can’t find just one history. And if the history is far enough …
How Research Fills the Gaps in a Family Story
By Glynn Young The idea has been in my head for years – a story about my great-grandfather. But I knew only a few facts about him, passed down by my father. Research has filled it in – a little bit. Too young to enlist as a regular soldier, he’d been a messenger boy in the Civil War. He’d lost …
If You’re an Author, You’re Multilingual—Whether You Know it or Not
By Lana Christian How many languages do you speak? I speak English and German. English is my dominant (first) language, but sometimes German pops into my thoughts, dreams, and writing without my bidding. That can be good or bad, depending on how you look at it. My handwritten notes combine English, German, and a personal shorthand—whichever is shorter …
Worthy Words: Creative and Compelling Characters
By Christine Sunderland As I reflect on my next novel, The Music of the Mountain, I return to the importance of creative and compelling characters. In some way my characters must change in the timeline of the plot, and this arc is determined by their own ability to change, their creative ability to learn, turn, confess, repent, and be reborn …