Category: reflections

For a while, I haven’t had the oomph to tackle first draft writing. I have a number of projects that I can polish, or tear apart and rewrite, but I… Read more »

I’ve tried to avoid having flashbacks in my writing because I find them rather annoying when I’m reading. It seems to be a common technique to tell a story in… Read more »

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve started to think about how long it takes to do something. Is it worth it? It applies to taking my shoes off at the beach… Read more »

I discovered about ten years ago that I have Aphantasia which is where you don’t see images in your head. I always knew I couldn’t see images. I just didn’t… Read more »

It seems that most books I read lately, especially for book clubs, tells the story in two or more timelines at once. Sometimes it works, but often it feels like… Read more »

I love to write at the beach. And I’ve had that opportunity off and on over the years. But I don’t live at the beach, so whenever I’m there, I… Read more »

When life imitates art, it can be difficult to work on a project. I remember years ago being surprised when friends stated that their dentist always checked their throat. “What… Read more »

Why outlines make sense. As I was contemplating making things worse for one of my characters, I realized that I was making it not just bad, but impossible. I had… Read more »

Inspiration comes in many forms. I enjoy traveling and often include places I’ve visited in my novels. I took my love of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and wrote four books… Read more »

While I continue to work on my French series, my thoughts circle back to some of my earlier writing. I’m thinking about picking up one of those books—maybe after November…. Read more »

In reading through old hand-written journals, I came across a novel idea. While I have plenty of ideas for novels, it was fun to read the idea and some of… Read more »

Sometimes the best routines get disrupted by life. In my case, it was hip surgery for the second time in just over a year. Which is where liking to edit… Read more »

I used to say that I wrote to have the last word, but that doesn’t seem as important these days. What does the last word mean when people skim articles,… Read more »

Writers are often advised to carry a small notebook to write down observations, bits of dialogue, etc.  With modern technology, many people just use their phones. But what to do… Read more »

I was wondering why I was having difficulty spending energy on the next book in my french series. It’s partly because I have notes about it scattered around in different… Read more »

When I am in the middle of writing a book, I like to have bread crumbs scattered in my outline. Things that make a character deeper, or give them a… Read more »

I dislike reading the back of novels because it often gives away too much. I dislike so-called prologues that are just a scene from the middle of the novel put… Read more »

It’s hard to say when a writing project is finished, since words can be tweaked for a long, long time and each tweak seems to make an improvement. Even when… Read more »

I’m a morning person, so, of course I’m a morning writer. The words just come easier before noon than after. Most write-ins of my writing group are in the evening. … Read more »

When I was getting ready for NaNoWriMo this year, I enjoyed coming up with ideas for things to ‘write fast’ about. I know that I like to bounce from idea… Read more »

When I decided to take a break from the novel I was in the middle of, I knew it might be difficult to pick it up again. It wasn’t. Turns… Read more »

I have a good routine at home that provides me ample opportunity to write and edit. Routines are severely disrupted by travel. It’s easy to let the details of travel… Read more »

During NaNoWriMo in 2021, I focused on ‘reading for writing’ including copying sentences that caught my eye. I don’t do this regularly anymore, just when a phrase really grabs my… Read more »

Unlike many of my writing friends, I enjoy editing. Mainly because I write the type of novels that I like to read, so it’s not painful to read through them… Read more »