In the latest news, my wife and I have completed our move to Maggie’s Farm in west Tennessee, about 40 miles outside of Memphis. We’re
This is the title of an article making the rounds in the writing world based on Elle Griffin taking a dive into the results of
There’s actually a lot to unpack from this movie. At times it’s almost a farce on both race and the world of publishing. But it
How AI Will Cripple Authors’ Livelihood versus the Uncanny Valley Something lost in all the talk of ChapGPT, Bard and the newer programs focused specifically
A lot of discussions lately among those of us in the creative fields such as writers, whether AI will replace us. So I went to
In celebration of the publication today of The Writer’s Little Black Book, the first book in the series, Life’s Little Black Book is only .99
Every writer dreads a deadline, yet at the same time we crave them to give us direction and purpose. I’ve been writing for a living
When I reached that scene, I almost stopped watching. It just seemed too over the top. It’s early in them movie so there’s no need
As I write this, the class of 2020 is marching single-file, social distanced, onto the Plain at West Point where their chairs are set far
I’ve had a new version of The Green Beret Preparation and Survival Guide out for some months now. But given recent events, I wanted to
While we usually want to avoid conflict in real life, in fiction, it is what drives the characters and story forward toward the climactic scene.
I’m in the process of updating all my slideshows on writing the novel and got the first four done: Idea, Conflict, Plot and Point of
There was a young girl who wanted to be a violinist. She practiced hard for many years. Finally, when she was a teenager, her hero,
The two are somewhat different. There are lots of writing books out there. It seems after a certain number of years writing, each author tries
November is when many writers go into hyper speed and participate in Nanowrimo. It stands for National Novel Writing Month. It doesn’t mean you have
Yes, there was a time when we lived in caves, ate rocks and didn’t have an internet. Well, DARPA did, but the first Internet message
I heard that this weekend at the Writers of the Flathead Conference in Kalispell, Montana. I remember David Morrell saying the same thing at Thrillerfest
Perhaps the biggest mistake I made early in my writing career involved titles. I’d never gone to a writing conference or had any classes on
This was what someone posted on a conference twitter thread that I recently spoke at. Of course, the speaker was moi. Making friends and sowing
Product, Platform, Promotion. We all rate differently on those three, therefore any writing advice we get has to be factored through our own personal situation.
What’s your favorite book? What do you remember about it that makes it your favorite? Was it the plot? Or was it character? One of
Honestly, this is the hardest topic to discuss or teach. For example, I wrote New York Minute in omniscient, translucent, single character. Right. Got it?
That’s how it started, that’s how it will end. That’s why it’s a Game of Thrones. As writers, we work with what we have. Looking
This morning I read another story about the ten keys to success as an indie writer. I read articles about the essential things a writer
It all starts with an idea. Which is not story. The two are different. Story can change. Idea can’t. Every idea has been done; but
When I lived on Hilton Head Island, I’d occasionally drive to the outdoor grill in Harbor Town with Rex, our rescue dog. I’d sit and
I’ve seen a number of posts lately with writers dismayed at the state of the industry and their careers. Which actually, I’ve been hearing ever
This is the opening scene of New York Minute— the event that starts everything in motion heading toward a bloody showdown a week later, when
The Hot Zone was a #1 bestseller when it came out in 1995. It also got me thinking. When we deployed overseas one of the
Since every idea has been done, a job of the writer is to absorb as much idea and story from the world around them. Not
We hear that all the time. Since I was abducted by aliens, I wrote the Area 51 series to describe the mothership and what they
Substitute the word ‘books’ and you’ve got it. Early in my career, which has now spanned three decades, while I was living in a one-room
I mentioned in a previous post about ideas that title is important and how my first book published, Eyes of the Hammer, failed in that
Great title, eh? I listened to Mary Higgins Clark speak one day and she said a title must invite the reader into the book. It
I often see writers who are concerned about someone stealing their idea. The problem with that is that every idea has been done. I know
