Note: Not sure why this post didn’t send through MailChimp yesterday morning, but it should go out this morning at 8 a.m. Also, for anyone who would like a copy NOW, I published this full book yesterday (Writing the Character-Driven Story). If you are a subscriber, you already received your copy. You may also catch it here one chapter at a time through March 30. Or you may purchase a copy at your favorite ebook retailer … Read more
Note: If you’re interested in Irish food, clothing and other unique items, visit Celtic Clothing. This past Christmas season I ordered two sets of Guiness pint pub glasses. When the order arrived, there was only one set. When I emailed them, they apologized, explained that their supplier had failed, and then refunded the full price of my original order, almost $50. They insisted I keep the first set of pub glasses as a gift and apologized … Read more
This will be a difficult concept for many of you to grasp. Why? Simply because of all of the myths that have been drummed into us during our entire lives. The big myth here is that your appropriate role as the writer is Almighty Writer on High. (Hear the angelic chorus?) But if you grasp this concept, it will start you along the path to Freedom as a writer and more fun than you’ve ever had at … Read more
Folks, Before I give you Chapter 1, a shout out to an excellent writer, Sara Therese and her most recent blog post, which I hereby declare Required Reading for anyone who enjoys good, strong, emotional writing or Love. You can find it here. Okay, here’s Chapter 1 — What Do You Mean, Character-Driven? Staple it to the inside of your eyeballs, folks: All good fiction is character-driven. No matter the genre, fiction isn’t about the science … Read more
For these special posts, I’m providing only an excerpt via email. Please click Read More or Read On near the bottom of the email to read the entire post at the website. Remember, you can get this and other of my works by subscription now at a substantial savings. To learn more about that, click the Subscribe to My Work tab on the website. About the Blog Version Writing the Character-Driven Story is going to be … Read more
Hi Folks, This is a revised post from earlier. First, if you’ve ever felt you’re starting too late in life as a writer, please visit Dean Wesley Smith’s post on the topic. You’ll be glad you did. Second, the next post in Pro Writers, probably around the end of this week, will be the Introduction and maybe the first chapter of my new nonfiction title, Writing the Character-Driven Story. I will post successive chapters here, free, … Read more
Hi Folks, I’m about to try something I’ve never tried before. One of my goals this year is to write at least six nonfiction books on writing or publishing. To help me achieve that goal, I’m going to publish them right here first, on this blog, one chapter at a time and free of charge. I will announce each book here when I start it. Then, each time I finish a chapter of the book, I’ll … Read more
At Bible Mission Church in Springer, South Dakota, the church secretary, Martha Ramis, lay yesterday’s mail on the corner of the pastor’s desk as usual, then turned away. Was that a draft? She turned back to glance toward the window. No, the blinds were down and the window closed. Probably just her imagination from having recently come in from the cold. She reached up to clasp her heavy brown coat near the collar as she turned … Read more
Hi Folks, Okay, first, wishing you a Happy New Year. May it be everything you want it to be. As I write this, I recently visited Dean Wesley Smith’s website (link below) and read some of the comments there. The comments are almost always as informative as the posts themselves. In fact, I regularly pass along tidbits from his site over on my Daily Journal. (Subscription info below.) To sign up for my diary of a … Read more
Hi Folks, A very brief post today. First, I wish you a happy Christmas Eve, a Merry Christmas, a happy and prosperous New Year, and an overall happy holiday season. I also invite you to check out my Journal for today. Anytime today, please visit This Link. I’ll be updating the post until around 3 p.m. To make it more valuable to writers and the curious, from this day forward the Journal will contain an introduction … Read more