Saturday morning I am teaching a character workshop. It is the first time I will be teaching in a bookstore in Lomita called Pipe and Thimble. I am really excited to be back in a classroom setting(sort of) teaching complete … Read More
To have a strong hero he must fight against someone or something. Hero vs. Villain is a tale as old as time. Right now I had done my character work on my two leads. Or so I thought. … Read More
A month ago I went on a hunt for missing pages. Every Writer’s Nightmare. I was getting ready for summer travel and activities and wanted to move some of my work to my laptop. Two of my books are fairly … Read More
Research should never be taken for granted. Even first hand accounts or old family histories can take you far down the wrong road. I have been doing a great deal of family research of late. I have been reading … Read More
Don’t we all have that negative guy in our head that tells us what we are writing is stupid, useless, or crap? I have my days with the demon. I don’t have a magic bullet for killing him off instantly. … Read More
Picture a young woman in acting class. Her days are spent creating people from a page of writing by an author she has never met. Somehow she has to breathe life into this character and feel their feelings and justify … Read More
It’s the perfect time of year to freshen up your characters and spring your book forward! My favorite part of the writing process, and the part I am particularly talented at, is the creation of intriguing, unforgettable, deep characters. Characters … Read More
Driving force: WANT? What is your character’s desire that drives him forward. In simple terms, what does he want? (I use he or she interchangeably, so excuse whichever one I use that doesn’t pertain to you and your story.) Back … Read More
How many shades of green do you see? As a writer you learn to pull from all areas of your life. You take childhood moments and rearrange them for a character or their backstory. You remember a place and make … Read More