You’ve put aside the first draft you have just finished so you can gain some distance on the work before tackling revisions. It’s a great time to clean your office, sort your files, and write a few blogs. But your mind starts seguing into the next story. Here’s what floated into my mind, even when … Read more
In a romance, the Big Dark Moment is the crucial juncture when all seems lost between the hero and heroine. He stomps away and she strides in the opposite direction, and it seems as though they will never be together again. How can they overcome their insurmountable obstacles? Will love triumph in the end? Of … Read more
When you’re nearing the end of your book, do you tend to race ahead? I have 25 pages to go in my WIP before reaching my required word count, and I’m beginning to think I might go over. I still have several scenes to go to reach a satisfactory conclusion. While I’m tempted to rush … Read more
REPORT ON RWA NATIONAL CONFERENCE Friday, July 30 and Saturday, July 31, 2010 Reinventing Yourself with bestselling author JAYNE ANN KRENTZ . Jayne had to reinvent herself numerous times, from writing futuristics to contemporaries to historicals. She takes her “core story” and puts it into a marketable setting. Names she’s written under are Jayne Ann … Read more
RWA NATIONAL CONFERENCE, ORLANDO 2010 Thursday, July 29, 2010 The morning’s annual RWA meeting was followed by a keynote luncheon featuring NY Times bestselling author Nora Roberts aka J.D. Robb. NORA ROBERTS Keynote Luncheon Nora spoke about how technology changed from when she started writing in the days of typewriters. Writers used to go to … Read more
Wednesday, July 28, 2010 I arrived at the Dolphin Resort with my roomies for the weekend, authors ALLISON CHASE and SHARON HARTLEY. We went early in the morning to register at the RWA Annual Conference and to drop off our promo items in the goody room. Not too many people were around but we figured … Read more
Are there times when you feel brain dead or too tired to think straight? Never fear, you can still accomplish something by doing a mindless task. Here’s a list of boring jobs to do when you want to be productive without much mental effort. Organize your Browser’s Bookmarks or Favorites. Verify that the links are … Read more
If you’d like to escape for several days to a beach haven away from it all, visit Marco Island. There’s as much or as little as you want to do here, with expansive sandy beaches, boat rides, fine dining, shopping, water sports, and more. Driving onto the island, a two-hour drive west from Fort Lauderdale … Read more
When you research an area in person for your story, observe your surroundings with the Writer’s Eye. What does this mean? Use the five senses in recording your observations. Back up your notes with photos and recordings if you wish. But later, when you have plenty of reference materials, you might forget just how hot … Read more
Last weekend, I gave a talk at Jupiter library, but first, my husband and I drove around to explore the town. We stopped at Dubois Park, but it was Memorial Day weekend, and the park was mobbed with picnickers. It looked to be impossible to get a parking spot, so we drove on. We went … Read more