The History Quill's Convention for Writers of Historical Fiction On Saturday, February 5, 2022, I was invited to speak at The History Quill’s convention for writers of historical fiction. My topic was writing and publishing short historical fiction. I had a lot of fun speaking to the attendees and sharing my presentation. Right before my … Continue reading What is the Spark of Creativity?
Writing Inspiration
How To Avoid Clichés Like the Plague
Photo by Debby Hudson for Unsplash Writing is Rarely Easy For someone who loves to write as much as I do, I find writing quite hard. I love that saying from Thomas Mann: "A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people." After all, who else but a writer … Continue reading How To Avoid Clichés Like the Plague
The Challenges of Writing a Time-Travel Story
Photo by Dan Meyers on Unsplash Where Did the Time Travel Inspiration Come From? I have a tendency to come up with story ideas a lot faster than I write them. I mean a lot faster. Fans of When It Rained at Hembry Castle know that I came up with the idea for that book … Continue reading The Challenges of Writing a Time-Travel Story
Creative Inspiration On The Oregon Trail
Researching the Oregon Trail Now that I’ve spent some time building up my general knowledge about the Oregon Trail, I’m starting to learn more about the culture of the era, which is always one of the most fun parts of writing historical fiction for me. I enjoy discovering how people lived during whatever era I'm … Continue reading Creative Inspiration On The Oregon Trail
Writer’s Block, Burnout, and Giving Up: My Personal Story
Rediscovering My Connection To Writing A few days ago I was reading the wonderful website Writers in the Storm and I came across this post about the writing resolution that changed the writer’s attitude and ultimately changed her writing career. I nodded a lot as I read the piece because, although the specifics of my … Continue reading Writer’s Block, Burnout, and Giving Up: My Personal Story
Writing Inspiration: From Plotter To Pantster
Her Dear & Loving Husband is an Award Winner! Before I get to my post today, I wanted to share some wonderful news. Her Dear & Loving Husband is now officially an award-winning novel. James and Sarah have won the Coffee Pot Book Club Book Award for highly recommended novels. Cool, right? Our Writing Process … Continue reading Writing Inspiration: From Plotter To Pantster
What is the One Thing a Writing Book Can’t Teach You?
How-To Writing Books Can Be Inspirational Since Painting the Past: A Guide for Writing Historical Fiction was released I’ve been thinking a lot about writing books. I’ve read many of them, believe me, especially when I was a fresh-faced writer dutifully taking my English, screenwriting, and creative writing courses as an undergrad. I combed through … Continue reading What is the One Thing a Writing Book Can’t Teach You?
A Free Workbook For Writing Historical Fiction
Painting the Past is a #1 New Release on Amazon Oh my! Just a few hours after its release yesterday, Painting the Past was tagged by Amazon as a #1 New Release in both the Authorship and the Authorship Reference categories. I was so excited I couldn't stop taking pictures. Here's Painting the Past between … Continue reading A Free Workbook For Writing Historical Fiction