The Fear of Writing Real Characters Writing strong, interesting characters is not easy. Many writers use real people, or combinations of real people, as the basis for their characters. Because they are, in essence, real people, readers relate to them. It’s no surprise then, that quite a few authors base their protagonists or at least…
My wife was reading a book the other night and the female lead was having a difficult time with her relationship. At one point the character said to her friend, “Nothing’s left. It’s all downhill from here.” Confused, my wife came to me and asked about the saying. “I thought ‘it’s all downhill from here’…
Mistakes Show Up in Many Ways Imagine buying a new computer only to discover that the percentage key doesn’t work, or that five pixels on your screen aren’t working. Or how about a new refrigerator, and the first time you have guests over you discover the ice maker taps out after half an hour. (I’ve…
Thumbs Up I was reading a book the other night, and when I finished I went to write a review for it. I wondered, does this get a “thumbs up” or a “thumbs down?” Since it was a damn good book I gave it a thumbs up. But did I do right? Whenever I see…
A huge THANKS! is in order for all you wonderful readers. You have made March my best sales month ever. And even more gratitude to the magnificent readers who spent precious time leaving reviews. My books have some of the highest ratings based on customer reviews. The “hard boiled mystery” category has @ 5,000 books…
I’m Afraid of ;;;;;; It’s okay for writers to play with grammar. You don’t have to write in complete sentences. Not all the time. Readers know what you mean because that’s the way many people think. Writers can put periods damn near anywhere. Well. Ma.ybe. As the preceding example shows, you can’t get away with…
I have been out of town attending a funeral and didn’t have time to write a post this week, so I thought I’d repeat one I did a guest post on. This is more for writers. I hope you enjoy. I Don’t Have to Use Any Stinking Copy Editors. There has been a lot of…
Conflicting Characters I write crime novels, mysteries, thrillers, fantasy…no matter what you call them, they’re fiction books. But just because they’re fiction doesn’t mean they’re not real. What the hell does that mean? Some readers have written to me and asked how I make my characters seem so real. I thought about that and then…
Stereotypical Characters I was reading a book the other night and the author — in order to elicit sympathy for the hero — painted the mother-in-law as an extremely annoying … bitch. No other way to say it. It got me thinking about mother-in-laws and how they always seem to draw the short straw. You…
What My Animals Teach Me About Writing. There are thousands of books for sale that offer advice on writing, but I don’t buy any of them. I have all the advice I need right here on the animal sanctuary. There is nothing like several dozen animals to teach you about … well … damn near…