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Dec.03.2012 Research: Writing with an authentic voice by J.R. Wagner Trinity Library, Dublin Ireland (been there, such a cool place!) I've been asked on numerous occasions how much research goes into writing. Many people believe because I write fiction, I can simply make it up as I go. This couldn't be further from the...	Nov.30.2012 How to Succeed as a Nonfiction Writer Beyond money earned on sales of articles and books, success for a nonfiction writer means communicating a message to many readers. However, as mentioned on the first post of the WNFIN challenge, you can’t rely on just a great idea and excellent writing ability to succeed. If you want to earn a...
Aug.27.2012 The most important tool for my writing I have always hoped that my writing would have a certain flow to it, that it would roll, unimpeded through the reader's heart and mind, leaving a subtle impression like a river through a valley. On some days this actually happens, the words flowing effortlessly through me and onto the page,...	Apr.23.2012 The Perfect To-Do List For months now I’ve been on the quest for the perfect to-do list. From where I’m sitting at my desk right now, I can see five different lists I've tried out. Three of them came from templates I found on Pinterest. One is my list for updating my online sites (19 of them at the...
Mar.27.2011 The Lowly Pencil Pencil, from the Latin penicillus, meaning "little tail." Little tail? Not everyone writes even occasionally with the old-fashioned yellow pencil with pink eraser top anymore. This astonishing fact came to my attention through a more newfangled way to communicate, the Facebook post....	Nov.10.2010 Nano Food, Nano Diversions and Name Your Inner Editor What do you feed yourself when you’re trying to keep up your strength for Nano (National Novel Writing Month), basically writing each day until you keel over your laptop, in an exhausted haze? I’m eating fish. Brain food. I had langostinos last night for dinner. What the heck are they, you ask? A...
Oct.11.2010 Pros and Cons of Writing in Omniscient Point of View How many of you have tried omniscient point of view? That’s when the author can write how any of the characters are feeling, and what they are observing. Unlike first person POV, where the narration stems from one person, or third person limited, where the “I” becomes “he” or “she”, but is still...	Aug.22.2010 Show and Tell I have been writing a long time and consider myself a professional, having sold hundreds of articles and stories, but there is still something that at times eludes me. Although I recognize it in others’ work, I don’t always recognize it in my own. There is a fine line between showing and telling in...
Oct.02.2009 Writers need toys (No, I don’t mean that kind of toy. Although we need those, too… but all right, that’s another blog.) The point is, you are going to be working SO HARD for the next two months (and I hate to be the one to break it to you, but for the rest of your lives, as well…) So I really encourage you to...