Monthly Archives: February 2022

64,382 words into the new book, and suddenly (Encore)

I have this great urge to start killing off characters. It’s probably not even their fault. Although, come to think of it, the way some of them have been acting lately, it’s like they’re asking for it. One player in … Continue reading

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Thinking and Feeling (Encore)

What is it that’s so hard about getting into a character’s head? It’s a problem many of my writing friends and students encounter, and it happens all too often, or so it seems to me. I suspect in most cases … Continue reading

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Valentine, oh Valentine, where didst thou go wrong? (Encore)

And whatever happened to Saint Valentine’s contemporaries: Saint Austrebertha, Saint Eormenhild, Saint Eulalia, and Saint Scholastica? February was their month, too. It all began a long time ago. Based on my admittedly cursory research, it seems the Romans had a nifty … Continue reading

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Tension: We’ll be right back, after this… (Encore)

Tension is (or should be) a writer’s stock in trade. It’s what causes readers to stay up late to “finish just one more” page, scene, chapter, part, or volume of your epic–be it fiction or something else. Tension is shorthand for … Continue reading

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