Before getting into the subject of this week’s blog post . . . A MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT! In my previous blog post, I discussed the danger...

John Donne wrote, “No man is an island Entire of itself. Every man is a piece of the continent, A part of the main.” This statement is...

As I’ve mentioned before on this blog, the wheels of the publishing machine sometimes move slowly. But, like a railroad locomotive, once...

To paraphrase a familiar adage, “A writer’s gotta do what a writer’s gotta do.” So I’m doing it. Because it has to be done sometime. No...

That said, I was reading for pleasure a few nights ago (an historical novel, no less!) when my editorial alarm went off like an air-raid...

Don’t you just hate it when you buy (or buy into) something that has been highly touted but once you get it doesn’t meet your...

Often, we cannot truly appreciate someone or what they have experienced or done until we’ve walked the proverbial mile in their shoes. In...

To fully appreciate what I’m saying, one must understand the backstory, realizing the change that took place in DMV over the years....

“Write what you know.” “Your writing becomes like what you read.” Since I began writing for publication back in the late 1970s/early...

I suspect, however, that for many attendees a better name might be Ignite2Write, because they often leave the conference inspired to...

I’ll soon be leaving the safety and security of my writer’s cocoon and venturing well beyond my comfort zone. And for an introvert like...

Lately, I’ve been mulling what I should title one of the books on which I’ve been working. Now that the manuscript is finished and ready...

As readers of this blog already know, I tend to prefer reading nonfiction over fiction. But they also know that I’m trying to break out...

The wheels of the publishing machine often turn slowly, especially when an author is awaiting an editor’s response to a submission or the...

Perhaps you recall the famous lines about “the best laid plans of mice and men.” Often, the flow of “normal” life events tends to...

The lyrics of Joni Mitchell’s song include the repeated phrase “I’ve looked at life from both sides now.” In his poem “The Road Less...

Time for serendipity during journeys is always good. Sometimes one experiences some of the best things during serendipitous,...

A writer’s work is never done, even during vacations. If a writer is not looking for ideas, then he or she is doing research, people...

But that painting, “Snap the Whip,” was more than a sanity-maintainer for me. It reminded me of three special people: my grandfather, my...

Sometimes great writers have some interesting advice and insights about the craft of writing (and many other topics). Here are a few...