Writing...Just because!

“If you don’t know where to begin your story, try introducing readers to the protagonist’s unmet desire, vividly show them the location, and give them something to worry about.” Steven James, Story Trumps Structure Getting started is the toughest… you’ve written so many openings that just fizzled… right? I've written the opening to my next novel about 10 times and it's still not quite right. I'm trying not to agonize too much. I'm hoping that the perfect opening will hit me once I'm well underway.  I'm sure I'll re-write it a hundred times before I'm happy with it… and then re-write it again! Looking for inspiration I just grabbed a couple of my favourite novels off my book shelf and then headed to Amazon and took advantage of the 'look inside' option of some best sellers. Here are a few I came across that definitely grabbed my attention (a few contemporary and a few classics): “When the first bullet hit my chest, I tho...

I've just finished leading a writing retreat in beautiful Phuket Thailand and am buzzing from the high that hanging out with fellow authors always leaves. On day one we talked about the start of the journey towards finding your author voice. As we opened with an exercise where participants interviewed and introduced each other, one writer introduced another by saying, "Her inner artist is very protective of her own blank canvass." It was the beginning of the shedding of egos, the recognition that to be a writer you have to say 'I'm a writer!' very loud and very clear and... then just get down to the business of writing, which is the only way to actually discover the author voice that is inside you. You hear so many literary critics, book reviewers and lecturers say that every author has a unique ‘voice’ but what exactly does that mean? The more you read, and start to pay attention to the different nuances of different writers, the clearer this become...

Variety versus boredom I love to write but don’t want to get boxed into one genre. Does that create problems? Absolutely! Does it keep things interesting? You bet! I consider my specialized skill to be simply…. writing. Do some writers have a particular niche they focus on? Most do and many ‘experts’ warn not to switch about as it makes it difficult to market your services (or for book marketing). That’s probably the biggest downside to switching genres. For authors, once you have a following, switching genres can alienate your readers. But sometimes you just need a change, right? If you plan on juggling genres just promise you’ll be back. It’ll be part of your messaging. If you’re traditionally published you might have a battle on your hands with your publisher though. That’s when you might consider turning to self-publishing.  Mental Pause book signing at Stayner's Wharf in Halifax, NS For me I need the variety. After spending days on end writing Tweets or profil...