How many of you are suffering from a (jelly bean) hangover? This year, for once, I’m not. Somehow, somewhere I found a pot of willpower. Yay to anyone else who also found their pot of willpower. Remember how this feels. In addition to advancing my goal of eating less sugar, I also finished a major…
There is so much hope in children’s books. They should be prescribed by doctors and therapists. (Don’t send hateful comments because mental illness cannot be cured by a children’s book.) I’m not saying mental illness can be cured by children’s books. But for anyone who is looking at the world and seeing only darkness… For…
I love picture books. I don’t care that my kids are well beyond the picture-book stage (except at Christmas). I admit to reading picture books to my daughter’s dog, Walter, after I take him for a walk. It relaxes him. I asked my son the other day what picture books he remembered from his childhood….
What do you do all day? I’m retired and I still don’t have enough hours in my day. I have a tip for you: If you’re postponing working on a pet project, hoping for that day in the future when you’ll only have time to write (or whatever your project is), that day will never…
You might be a writer if…. Here are my top 20 clues. 20. You love coffee. 19. You’ve said these words at some point in your life: “I want to write a book.”…
In literature, a trope is a device, a theme, a motif or symbol that appears regularly in literary genres. Some people call them cliches because they appear so often. But that word has a negative connotation, so I don’t want to use it. A trope can be a useful building block for a story. It’s…
I have a writer friend who recently uttered a question that, I think, is the beginning of a slippery slope, leading to a melty pile of slush. A meltdown, if you will. Her question was “What’s the point?” I hear that phrase so often in one form or another. “Why bother?” “Who cares?” “Is it…
We sail into the village on a gentle wind, my mother and me. Not like Mary Poppins or that Vianne character from Chocolat. But not unlike them either. We’ve come to stay for a time before moving on. “How long will we be here, Mama?” I ask. “Do I ever answer that question, Lilly?” She…
Writing involves so many pieces. I’ve talked about theme and character. Today, I’m trying to tame story, structure, and plot. I’ll start with what might be easiest to understand: story. Story is simply the writer telling (showing) the reader about the main character’s journey. This involves writer voice and style. Structure is the layout of…
If you’ve been writing for a while, you may notice characters come fluttering into your head out of nowhere, full of personality and ready to go. But when that doesn’t happen, how do you go about putting together a main character? Character possibilities are everywhere: grocery stores, church, school—even your own house. Characters are easy…
