Advice from a Reluctant Death Doula — My niece, a Methodist minister, asked me a few months after my husband Kim passed away, leaving me a widow for the second time, if I wanted to join a grief group at her church. I considered it for a blip before deciding no. I’d been through grief before. I…

A new podcast for writers — Whether you are writing literary fiction or historical fiction, police procedurals or YA, before readers will fully invest in your story — to get them past those crucial first fifteen pages — you need to show the reader WHY. This week, we discuss how you find the WHY of your…

A new podcast for writers — Reading for craft is one of the most powerful tools in your writing toolbox. In this episode, we talked about books on craft and reading exemplars in your genre to learn how the authors who wrote them created exceptional books. …

A new podcast for writers — Every murder mystery has a dead body. Every thriller a villain. Every love story a meet cute. And every genre has elements that readers expect to find in the stories they choose to read. This week we’re talking about genre — what they are, why it’s important to find yours…

A new podcast for writers —

A new podcast for writers —

Or what does the reader need to know and when do they need to know it to keep them reading — Deciding who is telling your story and the point of view of that character are critical decision points for your story. As the writer, you determine how close the reader needs to be to the main characters. Do we need to be inside a character’s head? …

Tying the who to the why to keep readers reading — At the risk of extending the metaphor from the last post a bit too far, think about what it is like to sit at dinner next to someone who offers very little in the way of meaningful conversation. …

Who should you invite to the first fifteen pages party? — Have you ever been to a party with a friend who insists you spend the entire evening meeting one person after another? “Oh, there’s John, you have to meet him,” she says, only pull you away after a minute or two to meet Alicia, and a minute later Brent, and…