A couple of weeks ago I attended the semi-annual retreat held by my writer’s group. It took all of Saturday and most of Sunday. There were eight of us. We each read aloud from a piece we’re working on and the others read along silently and then critiqued the work. By Sunday afternoon, we were … Read more
Every good author does research to make sure the facts are right. But sometimes mistakes occur. More often than not they’re just stupid errors, things we think we know, so why look them up? Or continuity errors—we start with a particular make of automobile in a scene and somewhere along the line change our minds … Read more
I’ve taken a long break from blogging, for two reasons. First, I’m not sure anyone reads blogs, mine or most others. And second, honestly, I’d rather be writing fiction. The first book I ever tried to write was horribly—embarrassingly—autobiographic. Isn’t every author’s first attempt? Since that time, I’ve written only what I imagine might happen … Read more