Regency romance, romantic mysteries, & writing tips too.
You want to write a novel, but you can’t get started. One idea after another catches fire, but then you discard them. They’re mediocre and you want a great idea. Here’s the thing… When you write a novel, you mustn’t wait for a great idea Anything will do; even just an image. For example, a … Read more
Do you wish that writing fiction could be easier? You begin a novel or short story; you’re excited. Inspiration flows. Within a few short days, or even hours, your inspiration ends. Convinced that you’ve made a mistake, you wait for better ideas. Maybe you aren’t meant to be an author… Avoid the big trap when … Read more
When you’re writing fiction, starting a new novel and setting up your cast of characters can be challenging. However, if you meet that challenge, not only will your novel be fun to write, it will also (other things being equal) sell. A few months ago, we spent a writers’ group meeting chatting about character creation. … Read more
In a recent writers’ group meeting, we discussed writing fiction, as we often do. A topic came up which intrigued me. I know that I often overlook this simple, but very important element. Writing fiction: is your novel or short story unbalanced? One writer in the group said: “I want to talk about pacing. I’m … Read more
Last year, several of our writers’ group gatherings focused on writing suspenseful fiction. A member triggered this topic when she complained about feeling tired all day: “I stayed up until 2:30 this morning, finishing a novel. I thought why? Then I started wondering how I could write like that.” When we discussed books which hooked … Read more
In our recent writers’ group meeting we discussed writing fiction and the fraught topic of outlining. Those of us who are pantsers wince when we hear the word: “outline”. Pantsers don’t do outlines; we write by the seat of our pants. We feel guilty about that, so we experiment with outlines every few years. It … Read more