It’s the middle of tax preparation season, a time of year I hate. I am still amazed that when my father died on January 5, 2015, he already had his 2014 tax information pulled together. Even now that my husband and I use an accountant, it takes me weeks of […]
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Developing Plot in Scrivener, and Then . . . A Synopsis!
A few weeks ago I had to write a synopsis of my current work-in-progress to submit it to a contest. I hate writing synopses. My novels are over 100,000 words, and I’m supposed to capture the plot and essence of the story in under 1000 words? Nevertheless, I found this […]
Continue readingWrite Brain Trust Authors—What We Love (and Hate) About Writing
On my page for writers, I mention Write Brain Trust, a group of Kansas City area authors whose mission is “Writers helping writers with creativity, publishing, and marketing in a digital world.” In the seven years since we began, about thirty authors have been a part of the group. Recently, […]
Continue readingTen Years Ago—My Life and Dreams
Every once in a while, I go back through old journal volumes to see where I was and how I’ve traveled to where I am today. Recently, I picked up a volume from ten years ago. Early 2009 was the end of the beginning of my retirement years. Throughout 2007 […]
Continue readingLogging in Oregon in the 1850s
When the pioneers reached Oregon, they found abundant old-growth forests with timber that had never been cut. But logging has always been a part of Oregon’s history. In 1805, Lewis and Clark built their winter shelter, Fort Clatsop, out of logs they cut. Hudson Bay Company built a water-powered sawmill […]
Continue readingMy Performance Review for 2018 and Writing Goals for 2019
In December 2017, a writer friend of mine asked me what my 2018 goals were. This is what I told her: 1. Publish my third historical novel, Forever Mine (a first quarter goal) 2. Draft a fourth historical novel (the first draft to be written and reviewed with my critique […]
Continue readingBreaking Ground: On Building New Homes and Novels
I wrote in an earlier post that my husband and I are building a new home, after thirty-four years in our current house. The builder broke ground on the new house at the end of November! Now there will be something to see after months of planning. Building a house […]
Continue readingTwenty Tips from Another Writing Conference
Last Friday and Saturday, November 2-3, 2018, I attended the Johnson County Library’s writing conference. We in the Kansas City area are very lucky to have excellent library systems in our area, and the Johnson County Library system is one of them. This two-day conference was free to anyone, whether […]
Continue readingHalloween Celebrations Through the Centuries
Halloween has never been one of my favorite holidays. As a kid, I suppose I enjoyed the candy. But even then, it was trouble to find a costume, and the weather generally did not cooperate. The one good thing, as I’ve written before, is that Catholic school kids got the […]
Continue readingThe Fun Part of Writing: Meeting Readers . . . So Come Say Hello
One issue every writer must address is how much time to spend marketing as opposed to writing. At first, of course, it is most important to produce a high-quality book and get it published. Once a writer has published a book, however, marketing begins to take more time. Some of […]
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