This is what the question has come to. I wish I could be Superman and do all of it—write for my blog and work on my next novel—but I simply can’t do both well. That’s just the simple truth. Not with my editing schedule to pay the bills. Working on my blog frankly means less time to work on my novel, and I’m committed to finishing novel #3 this year. So what’s gonna have to give? The blog’s gotta give. Going forward, I plan to write an article every other week instead of every week. I hope to continue writing insteresting content for fiction writers or lovers of Christian suspense or both. I’ve also recently updated the look of my website and recently programmed a store, showcasing some of my favorite books. Let me know what you think. How’s the novel coming? It’s coming. Just not as quickly as I would…
Have you ever wondered what a novel looks like in a spreadsheet? The outline, I mean. Maybe you’re wondering what a novel outline even is. When I say outline, what pops in your head? Is it something like this? I. This is the first heading. A. This is a subheading. 1. This is a subsubheading. No, I’m not referring to an outline for a high school English term paper. I’m referring to a novel. When I say outline, I’m merely referring to some kind of organizational structure behind the story—a blueprint, if you will, that shows all the critical ingredients that must work together behind the scenes for the story to work. You may be surprised to learn how many organizational details must work together to make a good story, especially for a suspense novel with multiple characters and settings on a timeline. There are actually lots of ways to…
I was recently editing a novel and came across a recurring problem I thought would make a good, informative post about fiction writing. Here’s an example of what I want to address. John yelped as Mitch smacked him hard across the jaw while he was watching his baby sister. This sentence poses several problems for the fiction editor and the reader. Do you see what’s wrong with it? First, way too much is going on in this sentence. 1. John yelps. 2. Mitch smacks John hard across the jaw. 3. And one of the guys is watching his baby sister, but we don’t know which one because “he” is unclear. Who’s the babysitter—John or Mitch? A lot of beginning writers think they can join all sorts of details using the word and as if the word were Scotch tape. Technically, this is true—the sentence may make fine grammatical sense. But if…
See Part 1 and Part 2. In previous articles in this series, I addressed various pros and cons of working from home, primarily the social and financial aspects, based on my experience over the last seven-plus year. Today I address the issue of flexibility. Working from home isn’t for everyone, but it’s been a blessing for me and my family. Incredible Flexibility No drive to work means more time doing what I want to do. I have no set office hours. I can work evenings, weekends, whenever—as long as I hit my deadlines and keep the checks coming. Cons: No vacation days. No paid holidays. No sick days. If something doesn’t work right on my computer, I don’t have an IT department to run to. Because my office is so close, I sometimes may find myself putting in time during evenings and weekends, even when I don’t want to. Self-discipline is necessary to separate “work…
