Saturday, February 09, 2019

The Ideas Factory

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By Vicki Delany Where do you get your ideas? That’s a question authors are always been asked, and in a lot of cases we can’t answer. I...
2 comments:
Friday, February 08, 2019

About the Villain

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I intended writing about something else today, but what Donis wrote about villains yesterday got me thinking. I'm dealing with that is...
Thursday, February 07, 2019

The Bad Guy

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I’ve been working on my bad guy today. Is it true that in a mystery novel the author has to keep the villain a secret until the end? ...
Wednesday, February 06, 2019

In praise of the writers' retreat

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This is going to be a short post because I am far too busy with serious writing work to find time for it. Twice a year I get together with ...
1 comment:
Tuesday, February 05, 2019

More thoughts on favourite months

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by Rick Blechta I found Aline’s post yesterday really interesting and it got me to cogitating. If I had to pick a favourite month — or...
2 comments:
Monday, February 04, 2019

January: the Case for the Defence

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So that's January gone again to wherever it is that the lapsed months go once we've finished with them. It gets a bad press: Dry Jan...
2 comments:
Friday, February 01, 2019

Crash Crash Boom Boom

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I've led a charmed life. Not a single broken bone. No injuries other than a tiny stress fracture from using a treadmill. So I can on...
3 comments:
Thursday, January 31, 2019

The Elf on the Shelf

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The office: messy but quiet Thomas Kies’s interesting post “ Writing Space ” got me thinking about how space and ritual help us do whate...
Wednesday, January 30, 2019

The End

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When I was reading Rick’s post yesterday (“Permission to Fail”), I couldn’t help thinking how much he sounded like me. All except for the mu...
Tuesday, January 29, 2019

Permission to fail

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by Rick Blechta I’ve been in the perfectionist business for most of my life, that is, I’m a musician by training and natural inclination. ...
1 comment:
Monday, January 28, 2019

Writing Space

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Do you have your own designated writing space?  A place in the house where the creative juices flow?  A corner at Starbucks where your ch...
7 comments:
Saturday, January 26, 2019

When Writers Teach

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Those who can, do; those who can't, teach. I like to think that I can write and at the same time, I like to think that I can impart so...
Thursday, January 24, 2019

Beginning

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Donis here. How interesting that for the past few days my blogmates' entries have dealt with the terrors of beginning a new book. S...
4 comments:
Wednesday, January 23, 2019

For the sake of art

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My current novel in progress has plunged me deep into unfamiliar territory. Literally. The prairies and badlands of Southern Alberta. I...
4 comments:
Tuesday, January 22, 2019

Is it just me…

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by Rick Blechta Lately I’ve been puzzling over why I enjoy reading some authors and not others. We all have our likes and dislikes, of cou...
2 comments:
Monday, January 21, 2019

Double Time

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John's recent post, In Medias Res, and Frankie's comment, caught my attention this week. It reminded me of the comment my agent made...
1 comment:
Friday, January 18, 2019

The Dreaded First Pages

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John has a wonderful post about the very topic on my mind this week--how to start a book. Nothing strikes terror in the heart of a budd...
Thursday, January 17, 2019

In Medias Res

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Some recent excellent posts, including “ Plotting, Plotting ,” by Vicki, have me thinking about that timeless phrase in medias res. I’ve ...
1 comment:
Wednesday, January 16, 2019

My Year in Books, 2018

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It’s time for my annual reading wrap-up. In 2018 I read 70 books, 11 fewer than last year. About half of those were nonfiction, heavily we...
2 comments:
Tuesday, January 15, 2019

When you're feeling poorly…

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by Rick Blechta For the past two days I have been in the grip of grip (as flu used to be known) and feeling pretty poor. I'm going t...
3 comments:
Monday, January 14, 2019

Writing from a Woman's POV...What Was I Thinking?

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I loved the discussions by authors who visualize which actors and actresses would portray their characters if their books are turned into mo...
Saturday, January 12, 2019

Plotting, Plotting

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By Vicki Delany I hate plotting. But I do it. I used to be a ‘pantser’: a writer who doesn’t know where the story is going. Writes...
3 comments:
Friday, January 11, 2019

Starting the Year

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Well, in spite of my best intentions, the last week of December and the first week of January zipped by, and I didn't get a lot of the ...
Thursday, January 10, 2019

How Do You Do It? Writing When Life Throws You Curves.

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Happy New Year everyone. My new year started out on a sour note. My husband underwent another health crisis and ended up spending the night ...
9 comments:
Wednesday, January 09, 2019

Ahah! moments

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After the last echoes of New Years parties, family visits, and southern get-aways have faded away, the beginning of January feels like turn...
2 comments:
Monday, January 07, 2019

Christmas Past

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They've all gone, every last one of them, now Christmas is over. The books that until last week were piled up in library displays, fille...
3 comments:
Friday, January 04, 2019

Unofficial Start

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    I had to explain my Christmas gifts to my three daughters. No one, and I mean no one, understands what a bed jacket is anymore. B...
1 comment:
Thursday, January 03, 2019

Resolutions and Goals

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New Year's Eve with family Happy New Year, Type M Community! I wrote this post (the newspaperman in me still wants to call it a “c...
Wednesday, January 02, 2019

Those Hallmark Christmas Movies

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Happy New Year! I hope everyone’s holiday was filled with joy and laughter. I spent Christmas in Seattle where I ate way too much and watc...
1 comment:
Tuesday, January 01, 2019

Wishing everyone only the best in 2019

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Last week, being Christmas, I totally zoned out that it was also Tuesday. Since I was chained to the stove at the time — since I’m the “d...
5 comments: