Extrapolating the Past

I recently returned from a combination research cum vacation trip. Hmmm. . .surely we writers need a portmanteau word for that, but I’m not quite sure what it would be. Anyway, during the trip, I had a chance to visit Sherwood Forest and imagine its past. Well, you’re in that part of England and you… Read more »

How to Draw Nothing

Have you ever thought about how many marks you’ve made on paper in your lifetime? Starting as a doodling toddler, scribbling on your parents’ utility bills perhaps, then gripping a crayon in Kindergarten to draw a house and a tree, or to write your name for the first time. Later, you made a few grocery… Read more »

Indie Publishing Finance 101: Budget

Self-publishing is many things: creatively empowering, professionally challenging, fun. One thing it’s not? Free. Okay, through the miracles of modern technology it’s possible to publish a book for virtually nothing, but you won’t produce a product people will want to buy. Remember, self-publishing is a business. If you want success, you’ll have to spend some… Read more »

#5onFri: Five Steps to Beat Writer’s Block (Using Prompts!)

It’s easy to take writing prompts for granted. Maybe because they’re so abundant, we wonder if they can really help that much. Maybe it’s because they’re so fun, it’s hard to take them seriously. Those suffering from writer’s block especially seem to go to extremes in their approach to prompts. On one side, blocked writers… Read more »

Let’s Create a Series Bible

You have sealed your passion-infused romance novel with the last two celebratory words: The End. Your cast of characters are so dynamic they jumped off the page and popped the cork on a bottle of bubbly and it didn’t faze you one bit. This describes writing that screams, “Make me a Series!” I wrote about… Read more »