How many of you enjoy them? I find them to be the best exercise to warm up for a day of writing. Trying to think of the right word that the hint (the more vague, the better the feeling of guessing correctly) refers to is probably the closest thing to creative writing (or any writing- for that matter)that one can get.The New York Times has some very tough puzzles that challenge me and are very gratifying to solve. If you don't solve crosswords you should try it. Your vocabulary tends to ex... Read Full Story

Sometimes I get to the point where my writing is so intense, I forget about the blog. HA! Well anyways, I am back to updating at least weekly.I am finished with the Cemetery Dance story and I am just fine tuning it. I also have 30k words on the latest novel written. Enjoying the time between the two projects and hoping to soon get out there for all to read.I'm addicted to this daydreaming business. :DI also need to find a copy editor. I've been researching First Editors and they seem ... Read Full Story

Tonight I have taken the story back to past tense. I think it flows better and I think I am heading in a better direction.Here is a sample: He was still at the in between, the subconscious place where the dark things lurk, when it came. Three quick pounds at the door and he woke. At the shallow layer, the room was filled with the hiss of air, stressed springs, and his own breathing as he flipped around, pulled himself to his knees and thumbed a peek hole in the blinds at the window. As he... Read Full Story

Of course, this is just an example of what can be done to a scene. But I think it still holds the immediacy of the previous draft and doesn't lose anything in the way of needed info.All this scene is intending to do is hook the reader into wanting to know WTH is going on.I even lost the bit of rough dialogue and it didn't affect a thing. Thus, from 468 words to 297 and no unneeded foul language. Three quick pounds at the door and he’s awake. Eddie flips around and li... Read Full Story

Well, I manage to cut the length from 9800 word, all the way to 6800. Still needs a lot of editing and some clarity.The pace is a little fast and needs some slowing in several places. Rhythm and flow should be consistent and what I have in total is not.Also, I am thinking I need to give Eddie something more to create an emotional attachment between him and the reader.Anyways, it is coming along and the 3rd draft is always the hardest for me. (by then, I've grown too attached to my darling... Read Full Story

Well folks, I am currently hard at work on a short piece for Cemetery Dance magazine. This is the first scene and I hope it comes off clear and affects everyone in the way I intend (after reading something 4 million times it sort of gets stale eh?).I am kind of wobbling between tense at the moment and this present tense version seems more immediate and fits the overall urgency of the matter.Three things I wanted to introduce. 1) Eddie is fat and should show all the signs of someone fat. 2) He... Read Full Story

Wow, this guy has the stuff. Even with the sometimes confusing loss of punctuation. Mr. McCarthy knows how to do a play by play scene creation and is a master of letting dialogue develop the story.If you have never read No Country for Old Men then you are missing something. I read it in one sitting and it gave me goose flesh. Belle narrates each chapter and has an outlook on the world that will leave you reeling and nodding your head.I am now buying Mr. McCarthy in bulk. Every writer out ther... Read Full Story

In Stephen King's 'On Writing', Stephen seems to be telling us that consistency is the key to success. Well, Mr. King, you have flubbed. You tell us that you stick to a 2000 word per day schedule, but in 1979 you were on a 1500 word per day schedule.***Behind the Best Sellers: Stephen Kingby Carol Lawson (New York Times) Mr. King says he has “no idea” where his obsession with the occult comes from. “I’ve had this interest ever since I was a kid. People somehow acquire different... Read Full Story

The book is a must have for anyone wanting to understand Stephen King's process. This isn't your standard run of the mill how-to book ram packed with a lot of crap and a lot of worthless exercises. This book gets right down to the nitty-gritty of what's needed and how to get it This is hard hitting and deep.Stephen's biographical ( I say it isn't really a biography, it is a how-to book and uses his own life as an example. If you are looking for more biography, danse macabr... Read Full Story

The book was good and to the point. I read it in one sitting and was left wanting more. I guess that is why Mr. Frey has written part two. Supposedly, part two is a more advanced instruction in the common sense approach to crafting your long fiction into something viable and clear with an intense, 'can't put it down' feeling.I have never read anything by Mr. Frey, but the book has perked my attention. I want to explore this writer a bit more. I think that was probably 90% of the r... Read Full Story