5 Interesting Links for 2-24-2012
Grammar While not every item on this list matches current dictionaries (I had to look up the last one for something I was editing and learned the dictionaries had caved ;)), this is a good summary of...
View Article5 Interesting Links for 3-2-2012
Inspiration This is an odd way to get inspiration, but makes sense on a lot of levels, both for your mind and your foot health:...
View ArticleWrite What You Read: Musings on the Writer/Reader Connection
Though not as well known as the often misunderstood “write what you know,” most writers have also heard the “write what you read” axiom frequently enough for it to have sunk in. I accepted that axiom...
View ArticleA Creativity Game (Part 1)
Today I want to play a creativity game. You don’t have to be a writer, and really, you don’t have to be an artist, to play along. Please join in, and post a link to your exercise in the comments. …...
View ArticleA Creativity Game (Part 2)
Read Part One to see what this is all about. Here’s my version of a flower. It looks something like a chrysanthemum, and I put a butterfly perched on top. That’s actually what prompted (pun to be...
View ArticleA Creativity Game (Part 3)
Check out Part One and Part Two. Did all the flowers trigger the same reaction? I asked the above question last week, and I’d love to see your answers this week, because this is the other side of...
View ArticleDeja Vu: Through Arcane Rules and Procedures…
This post was originally published in 2009, but I think it’s just as relevant in our current writing/publishing enviroment. Through Arcane Rules and Procedures, We Persevere Because We Must This comes...
View ArticleWord Play: Salad (Part 1)
Like my earlier creativity game with the word “flower,” “salad” is one of those terms that is almost universally recognized, and yet depending on your habits, culture, or upbringing can have many...
View ArticleMy Favorite Genres for Writing and Reading: 2015 Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour
This is a hard topic for me because I’ve hardly met a genre in which I haven’t found at least one book to enjoy, and odd stories have popped up from all sorts of genres I never imagined writing. If …...
View ArticleJunk Mail: A Creativity Game to Play
It’s been a bit since I did a creativity exercise, and I was cleaning off the kitchen table today when I got an inspiration. Most writers when asked will say ideas are all around us every day. The...
View ArticleGo To Resources: 2016 Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour
I have been struggling with this Merry-Go-Round topic because I don’t really have a list of go to resources. With the exception of etymologyonline.com, where I verify shades of meaning and historical...
View ArticleThings That Make Me Smile No.116: Steampunk in Action
While the logical follow up to my essay last week would be a work of steampunk art I had created, I have only the one mechanical dog that I’ve shown you before (the artwork for my article is a...
View ArticleCreativity Challenge: The Starting Point, Part 2
If you missed the beginning of this creativity challenge, take a moment right now to pop over there and do the first part. It’s a simple guess, and the answer is coming next, so you might as well try...
View ArticleA Glimpse into a Writer’s Mind When World Building Plus a Multi-Author Giveaway
The first novel I wrote started as an anthropology assignment to create a society where gender is defined differently. My mind took that prompt and a mostly forgotten nature show on bizarre insects to...
View ArticleWhere Do Stories Come From? Guest Post by Paul Toolan
I’ve spoken about creativity and inspiration a time or two on Tales to Tide You Over, and Paul Toolan offers a narrative description of his process that I found quite compelling. I hope you do as well....
View ArticleFocus on Characters: Beneath the Mask
Some authors come to their stories through genre, plot, place, or idea. I’ve almost always been driven there by a character who wanted to tell me something. I write Regency romance not because I...
View ArticleFocus on Characters: Sam of The Steamship Chronicles
Samantha Crill, or Sam as she prefers, first came to me many years ago, but I balked at the story. I couldn’t see how to be faithful to her nature while offering a character who connected with readers....
View ArticleFocus on characters: Samuel of Seeds Among the Stars
Everyone loves a good villain, whether that means unflinchingly evil, completely twisted, or working for the wrong side. I’m rarely able to introduce a character I can’t connect with, so my villains...
View ArticleFocus on Characters: Trina of Seeds Among the Stars
I told you about the villain of the first book in Samuel, but skipped the main character, a decision I will now correct. If you haven’t delved into the Seeds Among the Stars, or even if you have,...
View ArticleFocus on Characters: Aubrey and Barbara of A Country Masquerade
Both Shafter and Beneath the Mask came into being as standalone novels. They were never meant to be the start of a series, but one of my talents is creating a whole world around my characters. My...
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