A wonderful feel-good video. Enjoy!
Blog
Where is the Romance?
When I talk with authors about their stories, sometimes they’ll say. “Yes, there’s romance. But it doesn’t happen until chapter five.” That’s when I look at the story and try to give advice on how they can change that. Granted, not every novel is a genre romance, nor should it be. And introducing the love element earlier shouldn’t turn the story into a genre romance. A more likely scenario? The …
Harvest Haiku
I just realized that we haven’t had a writing blog for some time, so what better time to correct that situation than autumn, when the air is pregnant with possibilities and the fragrance of change. I admit it, autumn is my absolute favorite time of year. I love the colors, the holidays, and the cooler weather. The way the birds are more active and the breeze more crisp. So come, you writers. Share …
Can I Have Your Attention Please?
In the last decade or so, there is a growing problem of fans being injured by foul balls and bats flying into the stands at baseball games. Discussion of fan-protection is becoming more important. Why are spectator injuries becoming more prevalent? Photos at the moment of impact of a foul ball or accidently thrown bat show dozens of people in the photo frame, with many looking down at their smart …
Fun Fridays – Oct. 16, 2015
Jeffrey Li and Celine Tam, ages 10 and 7 respectively, give a stunning performance of Josh Groban’s “You Raise Me Up.” Keep watching as it builds and builds to an exhilarating conclusion. (And if you want more, the boy did a solo a couple weeks earlier which is shown below.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeUJ4Y-XOeY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veIs0TQyaaM
So You Finished Your Novel Before Deadline
Are you one of those fabulous writers who finishes your books well before deadline? Are there weeks, maybe even months, left before you’re supposed to turn in the novel? Or maybe you’re just talking a week or two. That’s still great. Celebrate! Should you send your novel to the editor today? No. At least, there probably isn’t anything to be gained by turning in your novel early. Most publishers …
Yippee Kay Yay Publishing
There are so many metaphors we can use to describe what goes on in book publishing. Baseball, medicine, astronomy, physics, factory assembly lines, beavers gnawing on trees, hamsters on treadmills and many more each contain appropriate examples of various aspects of writing and publishing a book. I believe one of the strongest metaphors is that of target shooting. Ready. Aim. Fire. Three simple …
Fun Fridays – October 9, 2015
Phoenix is home to the MIM (Musical Instrument Museum) where there are over 6,000 instruments on display. If you are ever in town plan to visit! Today’s video is a fellow who is called Mystery Guitar Man who plays 90 of the instruments from the museum … at the same time (via some top level video editing, of course). How many of them can you name? Beside “guitar” and …
Arguments to Abandon on Facebook
The expression “choose your battles” is a good one, especially in this time when authors must use social media to engage with potential readers. In fact, at a recent author gathering, one mentioned to me that she abandoned Facebook because she was tired of negative comments. I can understand that. Life is stressful enough without reading political screeds and pointless debates during …
Tools to Tackle Grammar Gaffes
Oh my. We all have our peccadillos when it comes to English, don’t we? If I addressed them all, we’d be here til next year. So I’ll just give you the cheats…uh, tips I use most often. —Don’t be afraid of me. Poor ol’ me has been sorely maligned, as it should be when used incorrectly. Usage such as “Jim n’ me will be happy to talk with you” stirs images of uneducated, backward folk who …