I’ve reached an exciting point in writing my current work-in-progress—I’m about to send the manuscript out to beta readers. Writers define and use “beta readers” differently. I now use them when the basic plot is baked (though details can still be tweaked), when I’ve edited the manuscript fairly well (though […]
Like many writers, I have a love/hate relationship with social media. Marketing gurus tell writers that a social media presence is an essential part of an author platform, and we must have a platform and an author brand to sell books. And yet, we also hear we can’t be everywhere, […]
I’ve written several times before about setting up new computers and other digital devices. (See here and here.) I was at it again last month. Before the pandemic, my then-three-year-old laptop had started having battery problems. These problems took two forms. First, the laptop only held a charge for a […]
I recently loaded the OneDrive app on my Android phone so that I could have access to documents I’ve backed up to the cloud anywhere on any device. It won’t enable me to be productive everywhere, as it would be difficult to edit Scrivener files (the program I use to […]
It’s a scary time for me right now—I’ve sent my current manuscript out to the first people beyond my critique group. In writers’ parlance, these people are called beta readers. The book isn’t done—it can still be changed—but it’s far enough along that major revisions would be painful and, for […]
For those of you not familiar with WordPress, you probably don’t understand the title of this post. In late 2018, WordPress switched from its traditional (Classic Editor) interface to a new block-based interface that they named “Gutenberg.” But website owners and bloggers who didn’t want to make the switch could […]
The silver lining in the pandemic crisis is that I have been writing diligently on my work-in-progress, a contemporary novel I intend to publish under a pseudonym. In Kansas City, the shut-down began in earnest about the weekend of March 14-15. At that point, I had around 70,000 words written […]
I have a love-hate relationship with dictating. I think best with a pen in my hand, and second-best with my fingers on a keyboard. Far behind comes turning my thoughts into spoken words. As a law student and young attorney, I had to write many memos and legal briefs. Most […]
Perhaps it seems odd that I just announced the publication of my last novel, My Hope Secured, a week ago, and now I’m writing about beginning another novel. But the only way I know to improve as a writer is to keep writing. It’s a very different feeling facing a […]
Sometimes you just have to whine. Or rant. I’m doing some of both today. For the past several weeks, I’ve only been able to work on my novel about one day a week. Maybe two. I am in a weekly critique group, in which each participant (there are six of […]
