Gifts for Writers & Readers: 11th Day of Pre-Christmas

on December 23, 2015

12 Days of Pre-Christmas: Gift Eleven For Your Writer Friend

It’s too late to order online, but go to any brick and mortar bookstore and you will find an entire section on Writing! You can’t go wrong. Include a gift receipt just in case they have that one already. Books About Writing: What they are: Books that will give you real detail or a master class to advance your writing. There are also books on contracts and editors/agents, but those have a shorter shelf life than something on craft. Why they’re great: Similar to magazines, there is information and inspiration, but books will generally have deep knowledge you can refer to over and over again. I often pull out a book from my shelf when I think I’m missing something, can’t…Read More

Gifts for Writers & Readers: 5th Day of Pre-Christmas

on December 17, 2015

12 Days of Pre-Christmas: Gift Five For Your Writer Friend

Spell check, grammar check, synonyms, homonyms, rhymes, inspiration for your characters to quote – these are all nice references to have handy when you are sitting at your desk. Which leads us to ideas for the 5th Day of Pre-Christmas! Reference Books for Writers What they are: Books that are tools. Yes, you can get a lot of information online, but online you need to know what you are looking for and type it in. With the book you can browse and discover things you didn’t know you wanted. Why they’re great: “It’s so great out today it makes me feel great, and even greater would be a great cup of coffee.” Hmmm. What’s wrong with this sentence. That’s right, who wants…Read More

Writerly Wednesdays: So You Want To Write A Book!

on December 2, 2015

So You Want to Write a Book? I am often approached by people, who after discovering I write books, tell me they’ve been wanting to write a book too. Sound familiar? With the advent of self-publishing, it seems like everyone wants to write a book about as much as everyone wants to write a screenplay. “I started writing a book.” First, there are those, who think there’s big money in writing a book, and think it will be easy to get it published and that it would make a great movie. They’ve started something ages ago. When you ask how far along they are on their book, they might hem and haw a bit, and say only chapter one, or page five….Read More

Writerly Wednesdays: 5 Reasons to be Thankful for Writers!

on November 25, 2015

5 Reasons to be Thankful for Writers! Writers take us places we might never go on our own, and sometimes places no one could possibly go. Writers can give us the happy endings we need. Writers can inspire us to be better and give us dreams to which we can aspire. Writers make us think differently about our views, prejudices, and perceptions. Writers can help us escape from the worst moments in our own lives (and take us to a world where people are even more screwed!) Thank you to all my fellow writers, readers, dreamers, and schemers. Life is always better with a good book. Happy Thanksgiving! Tricia

Writerly Wednesdays: 10 Ways You Know You’re a Writer

on November 4, 2015

You Know You’re A Writer When by Adair Lara The following ten gems are from Adair Lara’s little book that sits on my shelf closest to my desk. Occasionally when I’m feeling out of sorts, a little weird, or have been caught talking to myself a little too much – I whip out this treasure, and remember that I’m not alone. Here are just ten of my favorites. There are so many more. If you’re not sure yet, if you’re a writer, you might pick up a copy. It also makes a great gift a writerly friend. You think of eavesdropping as research. You get a book idea while washing the dishes. Sometimes you think in an English accent. As…Read More

5 Recommended Reads for the Halloween Season!

on October 23, 2015

5 Chilling and Suspenseful Books to celebrate the Spooky Season!

Nothing says Halloween like chills up your spine as you read quietly in a dark corner of your home. Here are my top 5 recommendations for the spooky season. Perfume by Patrick Suskind – Sick, twisted, sad, compelling, slightly nauseating, and one of my favorite books of all time. Perfume is the tale of a man who has no personal scent, who becomes the most powerful maker of scents. Isolation is used rather beautifully in this book. The character is isolated from humans that cannot connect with a scentless man. The writer uses the sense of smell so cleverly, isolating that one power to the detriment of all. If you are a writer, you will appreciate this book and the…Read More

Writerly Wednesdays: 5 Tips for Writing Memorable Characters

on October 21, 2015

5 Tips to Write a More Compelling and Memorable Character Are you wondering why your character is not quite standing on her own or driving the plot forward? Have a look at these quick writing tips to see if you can revitalize a weak character and give him or her something worth fighting for! Give them a human need that they require above all things to be happy in life. This might be something like having a purpose or being completely free to do as they want. Perhaps it’s acceptance, belonging, or knowing they are respected or honored. Sometimes it is to protect, or serve justice, or know the truth. Rarely is someone’s ultimate need to be loved. But it might…Read More

Writerly Wednesdays: Virginia Woolf

on June 9, 2015

When I first purchased these books by Virginia Woolf, it was with the thought that if I’m to be a writer I must read books of other great writers. Thus, Virginia Woolf. A Room of One’s Own and Orlando are more like essays, manifestos or feminist testaments, cleverly written to convey her point with a sharp, satirical and sometime frustrated or angry humor – for which I don’t blame her a bit! I imagine they were greeted with a certain amount of controversy at the time. Virginia was home schooled by her literary father and grew up meeting other literary icons such as Henry James and Julia Margaret Cameron. She later became part of her own literary and artistic circle…Read More