My author blog changed my life, and it became a project and a passion unto itself. When writers I know consider starting a blog, I always encourage them to do it! However, people sometimes tell me they don’t know how to start a blog because they won’t have enough ideas for blog topics. And “What should I write about on
Category: Writing Matters
Hi friends! This is a workshop I’m going to be giving in a couple of places this year, and I thought I’d share it on the blog, too. I’m not saying this is the best way to plot a novel. I take at least a few weeks, and sometimes much longer, to outline a story and develop my characters. But
Hey friends! I set a goal on Goodreads of reading 52 books in 2019. I’ve got to admit it’s not a goal I’ll feel terrible about if I don’t hit it, for three reasons: I read so much in my day job that reading a lot outside of it can be a challenge. I already have 10 New Year’s Resolutions
Although I mostly write fiction now, I started out writing poems. My MFA is even in poetry. I’ve taught beginning poetry workshops at university and also in some fairly unusual settings. I know a lot of people can use ideas for poems, poetry writing prompts, and inspiration. Even if you write poetry all the time, one of these idea starters
Last night Mr. Donovan and I saw an old friend of ours with her two now-grown-up sons. As we were talking about movies and books, we realized we all loved Lord of the Rings , and we made plans to have an epic marathon watch party soon. I’m so excited about it! I first read Lord of the Rings when
Hey there! I bet many of you will already know all about writing flashbacks. But when I first started writing stories, I was confounded by how exactly to handle past tense and past present tense in flashbacks and other passages about things that happened prior to the main narrative. I’ve seen people on writing forums ask about how to format
I’ve gathered up these beautiful French sayings for tattoos, Instagram…or just to inspire you! Many people have enjoyed my post about Badass Latin Phrases for Tattoos and now that I’ve started to study French, I thought I’d share some French quotes and proverbs about love, life, and more. They include common phrases, old French military phrases, and quotes in