Surprising Statistic This Teens on the Scene post does not spotlight one teen, but rather focuses in on a new trend among teens. It concerns a statistic I read recently that surprised me -- about teens

Three Types of Characters In your novel, the stars on center stage are the main characters. Next in line are secondary characters. These secondary personalities interact with main characters to complicate

My Tiny Garden Paradise I know tomorrow is July 1, but I’ll be busy tomorrow. So I’m putting in my report today on the last day of June. This photo tells how everything is growing. It also tells how the

Midwest Small-Town America I remember a number of years ago, thinking that I was severely handicapped as a novelist because I had not traveled extensively. Nor had I worked at a dozen or so different jobs

My Saying I have a question for you. How has your writing been going? • Downhill? • In a slump? • Stalled out? • As good as can be expected (under the circumstances)? • Nowhere? As I said in my last post,

Strange Occupation Ours is a strange occupation. I’m talking about writers. If you narrow it down to novelists—the occupation is even more strange. Accepting the strangeness and coming to terms with the

Here is my first ever post for the Color Challenge. I love seeing other posts, but never entered in. However, yesterday I stepped out on my patio, and here was this tiny little fellow just begging to be

I have a question for you. Have you ever been car sick? How about seasick? (On a cruise perhaps?) How are you on the rides at the amusement park? Motion sickness is a horrible, icky-feeling experience.

I have a collection of plot definitions that I have accumulated through the years. I figure if I keep learning someday I'll REALLY know what a plot is. Just kidding. Sort of. But when I served as an instructor

In this Teens on the Scene post, we take a look at a real live “mad scientist.” Ha. Just kidding. But there was a time when his parents weren’t really sure. When Taylor Wilson wasn’t yet a teenager, he

As we novelists struggle along in our daily routine of writing our novels, it’s difficult—if not almost impossible—to perceive the growth that’s taking place along the way. Blaming Self While we are in

In this episode of The Writing Life, we're taking a close look at the basic building block of writing -- the sentence. Have you been guilty of taking sentences for granted? Of so, perhaps that’s why they

The emotions of your reader toward your character (or characters) is not built all at once. It is built slowly and steadily throughout the course of the novel. Through one incident after another you’ll

In this episode of The Writing Life, I'm bouncing off a poignant quote from author, Nathaniel Hawthorne. His heart was grieved because, as he worded it, "My fiction quill lay unused." ARGH! I've

In my teen novel, Flower in the Hills, main character Latina meets a family with a little girl named Althea who is special needs. Latina makes a gift to the family of a car seat for Althea. The story takes

Well... revising is not quite like murdering children, but one would almost expect such a comment from Stephen King. Right? Nevertheless, all writers can take this advice and run with it. Revising, editing,

My Tiny Garden Paradise In my previous post, I explained about how easy and cheap it is to grow sprouts right on your kitchen cabinet. I showed the type of seeds that I purchase, and also the sprouting

Fashions Change I’m sure it’s no secret to you that fashions change almost at the drop of a hat. (No pun intended!) I can remember when I was in high school, Fridays were jeans/Levis day at our school.

Tiny Garden Paradise Organic Gardening: Why Doesn’t Everyone Grow Sprouts? – Part I For years, I’ve habitually grown sprouts in a jar on my kitchen cabinet. Every time I harvest yet another batch, I wonder

Author / Reader Interaction One of the more fascinating aspects of novel writing (of which I believe there are many), is the ongoing interaction between author/reader. The novice novelist often tends to