The Easiest–and Hardest–Chapters to Write
I’ve been staring at the last two chapters of my latest book project, and I know what I need to write. But I have stage fright. I know exactly what needs to go there, and after months of labor, it’s...
View ArticleFifty Ways to…Write a Book
Necessity is the mother of invention. –English Proverb I was in my car this evening, driving back home after dropping my grandsons off, when Paul Simon came on the radio singing his song, “Fifty Ways...
View ArticleWhy You Should/Should Not Write a Book Series
It’s been a year since I left teaching, and I miss it. One of the things I miss the most is my student writer’s club that met every Thursday, Rough Writers. We’d get together and plan events, do...
View ArticleShaking off the Cobwebs
After a year of not writing, I am back in front of the keyboard, working on book #26. I use the term working loosely for two reasons. First, because like most writers, I am finding every excuse in the...
View ArticleShuffling the Cards
The hard thing about writing Christian novels–and this is a self-imposed standard, mind you–is that for the novel to be good, it has to (1) have a good story, and (2) have a spiritual message. That’s...
View ArticleWhy You Should Never Write Alone
Writing is a solitary pastime, or so I’ve been told. You spend a lot of time staring at either a blank page or a blinking cursor, wishing words onto a page. “Writing is easy,” said journalist Red Smith...
View ArticleA Little Cake, A Little Humble Pie
I’m sitting here in my easy chair, nursing my wounds after a tree got back at me yesterday for cutting off one of its branches. I thought I had positioned myself safely, but when the branch broke free,...
View ArticleThe Miracle of Creation
This morning I read through the last few chapters of my latest book project. What at one time was a pipe dream, then a half-cocked dream, then a cobbled-together concept, then an ugly step-child is now...
View ArticleBetween Projects: When I’m Not Writing
There are some writers who believe you have to write every day. If you don’t, you’re not a writer. I know: I heard that a lot in my early years writing. And it depressed me because I’m not that type of...
View ArticleRight brain vs. left brain writing
Hey there. I haven’t been posting like I used to, mainly because I am retired now. But let it be known that I’m not dead yet. I’m still writing books, teaching an occasional class, and babysitting our...
View Article