“Stories come from people. Not from ideas, not from plots. Faulkner gave us the key to our material: ‘the human heart in conflict with...

The much-anticipated, long-awaited Write2Ignite conference has come and gone. The recovery Sunday is now behind me, and the reality of a...

I don’t know where I first heard that statement: “Put the cookies on the bottom shelf.” It certainly didn’t originate with me, but I have...

But Dr. Moses Hoge, a contemporary of Jackson, declared, “To attempt to portray the life of Jackson while leaving out the religious...

Lately, I’ve been reading a sadly ironic biography of a talented but confused author who spent his life trying to find himself. He...

It finally happened, just as I had long fear it someday would. Several times, I have blogged about having too much to read (for example,...

If a writer wants his or her message to be understood, one must keep the readers in mind and write to them on their level. Failure to do...

Precision in writing is as important to good writing as brevity. In fact, precision, and it’s cousin clarity, inevitably produce brevity....

The next stage for a writer who continues to evolve in his or her skills is learning to “cut the fat.” First drafts are enveloped and...

During that time and through all the ups and downs of my writing career, I’ve noticed seven recurring characteristics that editors seek...

If one is making progress in his or her writing, that writing is constantly changing in many ways. It will be changing in content and...

At times, I get frustrated by the amount of reading material that pours in through both my postal mail and my e-mail, every item...

Sometimes things just turn out differently than we plan. That’s life. But, if you’re like me, such unexpected changes to the plans tend...

Sir Francis Bacon wrote, “Some books are to be tested, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.” They do not have...

Here it is the first day of the last month of the year. Amid all the increasing hustle and bustle that leads to and accompanies the...

I have been invited to participate in the Author Forum and Book Signing activity during the 2017 Homecoming and Family Weekend, October...

I can recall many a night when, as a youngster who had been told to turn out the light and go to bed, I dutifully obeyed but then pulled...

The other morning, while I was toiling through my regular routine on the treadmill and struggling with arthritis-pained knees, toes, and...

In lieu of my writing about a single topic for today’s blog, I decided to share a baker’s dozen (i.e., thirteen, for some people who...

My publisher, McFarland & Company, has informed me that they have submitted my book in nomination for the following two awards. The 2017...