“Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are the destination, and the journey. They are home.” ~ Anna Quindlen
Thought for the Day: "Try to get your characters into interesting trouble. Allow your characters to misbehave. Let them stay out after 11." ~ Charles Baxter ~ Gifts for My Writer Friends: Humor in kids’ stories is always a great element to add. HERE is a terrific post by John Bladek on Adding Humor to… Continue reading THE ABILENE KID: DEAD MAN’S HAND — Review
Thought for the Day: "Remember: Plot is no more than footprints left in the snow after your characters have run by on their way to incredible destinations. Plot is observed after the fact rather than before. It cannot precede action. It is the chart that remains when an action is through. That is all Plot… Continue reading BAD BADGER: A LOVE STORY — Review & Giveaway
Thought for the Day: "Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them — in order that the reader may see what they are made of." ~ Kurt Vonnegut ~ Gifts for My Writer Friends: I think we all tend to focus on plot, but HERE… Continue reading CLARICE BEAN, SMILE — Review & Giveaway
Thought for the Day: "An opening line should invite the reader to begin the story. It should say: Listen. Come in here. You want to know about this." ~ Stephen King ~ Gifts for My Writer Friends: I will meet with my critique group next week. There is always a little trepidation for me when… Continue reading A DAY WITH MOUSSE — Review
Thought for the Day: Writing is rewriting. A writer must learn to deepen characters, trim writing, intensify scenes. To fall in love with the first draft to the point where one cannot change it is to greatly enhance the prospects of never publishing. ~ Richard North Patterson ~ Gifts for My Writer Friends: Good posts… Continue reading ORRIS AND TIMBLE LOST AND FOUND & MERCY WATSON IS MISSING! — Reviews
Thought for the Day: "If you're a singer you lose your voice. A baseball player loses his arm. A writer gets more knowledge, and if he's good, the older he gets, the better he writes." ~ Mickey Spillane ~ Gifts for My Writer Friends: Robbie Cheadle has written a most interesting post about symbolism HERE on… Continue reading OCTOPUS MOON — Review & Giveaway
Thought for the Day: "Writing is not like dancing or modeling; it's not something where—if you missed it by age 19—you're finished. It's never too late. Your writing will only get better as you get older and wiser. If you write something beautiful and important, and the right person somehow discovers it, they will clear… Continue reading THE GIRLS OF SKYLARK LANE — Review
Thought for the Day: "Writing is like fishing. It's just like fishing. If you don't fish that often, you're not going to catch that many fish." ~Sandra Cisneros ~ Gifts for My Writer Friends: My critique partners have accused me of having characters who are too perfect. I know I'm not alone in this. I have… Continue reading FIRES BURNING UNDERGROUND — Review & Giveaway
Thought for the Day: “There are no first drafts in the library.”~ Marsha Diane Arnold ~ Gifts for My Writer Friends: I'm always on the lookout for articles on character, but the article HERE on Writers in the Storm by Sarah "Sally" Hamer is a very different take. How To Use Traits to Create Character… Continue reading HALF-TRUTHS — Review & Giveaway
Thought for the Day: "Everything I do is because of writing. If I go for a walk, it's because I'm thinking of writing. I go look at flowers, I go look at the garden, I go look at a museum, but it's all coming back to writing." ~ Jamaica Kincaid ~ Gifts for My Writer… Continue reading ON A WING AND A TEAR — Review
Rosi Hollinbeck 