Why it’s worth going down to the deepest levels of character development — It’s easy to make up a character. All you need is a list of attributes, which you can get anywhere on the net, and pick what you need. Hair colour, height, age, etc. You put them into your story and away they go. Isn’t that how it works? Unfortunately not…

Food is personal, that’s for sure — No, this is not a piece about being overweight or overeating or anything like that. These are simply stories I’m sharing to make you laugh or groan or cringe — and maybe remember some of your own. Food is so personal. Some people love avocados, some hate them. Don’t get…

A prose poem — Oh, to be low. So very low. The lowest. The low where you believe you have made a gigantic mistake. A life-altering mistake. You thought you’d decided wisely. Waited. Thought about it. Looked at all the angles. And then … this. You had no idea really what it would be…

It’s a funny word — critique. It usually means a critical reading of your novel or manuscript, along with feedback, comments and a report. I’ve also heard it called an assessment, and sometimes a developmental edit. The first thing you need to know is what YOU want. Where is your…

Then the brain takes off and weaves a story — I often wonder how many crime writers, like me, turn to the pages of the newspaper first that deal with crime reports and investigative articles on real life murders. …

Too often we write when we are tired or unable to focus — One of the first questions I heard from a teacher when I began writing was, “Are you a fowl or an owl?” Meaning, do you rise early (like a rooster) and write before, say, 6 am? …

Many writers struggle because some days, their lives are just too hard — I see lots of articles on Medium about making bazillions of dollars with writing, either on Medium or other platforms like Vocal. Truth be told, they make me feel tired. I know I don’t write enough to make bazillions. I just write what I know about (writing skills, mostly for…

There are two main reasons for procrastination and they’re big ones to fix — I’m an expert on procrastination. I’ve been doing it for years. Give me an excuse not to write and I’m out the door. But I know I’m suffering from it, so I’ve done everything I can to fix it myself. However, it’s an ongoing battle. You are probably the same…