My son’s Cub Scout Pack spent the weekend camping in the cold and windy mountains. No incidents involved wild critters, but at night, we could hear the wolves howling at the nearby preserve. The boys had a great time imitating them. We left home later than we’d hoped, so I put up the tent (mostly…
Sometimes I think I’ve bitten off more than I can comfortably chew. The biggest problem I’m facing with my romance novel is deciding how to structure it so it’s interesting and makes sense. Romance novels don’t contain just one story line (or at least the interesting ones *I* like don’t). The romance is the over-arcing…
Every journey starts with a plan. Whether you’re going to the supermarket or off on a well-deserved vacation, you have some sort of plan. It may not be a formal plan – a collection of ideas, a shopping list or just a destination. Your plan might also be quiet elaborate, including a detailed itinerary with…
I picked up a variety of books at Borders yesterday. They had a small in the writer’s reference section, but I found a couple that were on my list to check out. 20 Master Plots and how to build them by Ronald B. Tobias. I read this one yesterday. “Plot is a process, not an…
John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction is rough going – for me, the language isn’t friendly or immediately accessible. Lots of good points in there, if I can just untangle it all. DH pointed me to the Turkey City Lexicon this morning. Ah, earthy and practical. Phew! Much easier to read. I will finish the…
Yesterday, I completed a very rough first draft of a short story. I was intrigued by the “Dream by the Fire: Winter Magic” anthology submission call announced by Freya’s Bower. I made the mistake of plotting the story late Sunday night before bed. I was kept up most of the night and ended up getting…