Crime doesn't pay...unless you're writing about it!
I’m a retiree—finally. As I write these words, I’m indulging my sweet tooth on my favorite candy, strawberry Now-and-Later. After a lifetime of working for others, I’m technically unemployed, and I feel great about that. I now can partake of the windfall called retirement. Before ending my day job, I…
I just attended the best writing conference in my area: the Dallas-Fort Worth Writers Conference in Hurst, Texas. This annual conference offers two full days of classroom presentations, networking, and pitching your completed novel or work-in-progress to an actual agent or publisher. The conference helps authors and agents and publishers…
I wish I knew the author of one of my favorite quotes, which states: The important thing about your lot in life is whether you use it for building or parking. I have this quote on my wall within eye view—whether sitting or standing. My conscious self reads it every day, and my…
Getting positive reviews for something you’ve written makes a difference in your writing life. You feel like you’re doing something worthwhile, something that resonates with others and provides quality entertainment. That’s my intention when I publish my novels. Several positive reviews I received for my debut novel A Murder Among Friends…
When I started my fiction writing career, I thought point of view and viewpoint referred to two distinctly different things. They both, essentially, refer to an attitude or a way of thinking about a particular subject. We use viewpoint to talk about a person’s individual attitude about things. In fiction, point of view…
Most writers know to affix the copyright symbol to an inner page in their books, but many do not know—or care to make the effort—to register their books with the U.S. Copyright Office (USCO). I can tell you that not depositing a copy of your hard work with USCO might…
A friend of mine who’s been working on his novel for over five years recently asked, “How many edits does a good writer do to make the story just right?” Without hesitation I replied, “Well, that depends.” Deeming a piece of writing “just right” is the same as saying some…
Does it really matter whether or not I call this space a blog? To me, having a blog sets up the expectation of regularity. I’m not promising that. Because I’m a fiction writer who still works a full-time job in the daytime, I will probably have to really hustle to…