A very true quote about writing from Ernest Hemingway, at least for me, as a writer: There is nothing to writing. You sit down at a typewriter and bleed."

New Article

Stay tuned for my article in the Nov./Dec. issue of the Birdwatching magazine, about the Clear Creek wildlife area!

Crime Novels to Read

https://crimereads.com/11-crime-novels-you-should-read-in-july/

Best crime novels to read in July~

A great writing prompt to keep writing and to learn to put words on the paper without censoring yourself:
Look around and pick a common object in your vicinity, like a chair a or a pencil. Write down for 5 minutes about that object without stopping. Write nonsense, if you have to, as long as you're not stopping. Don't censor yourself, just write!

Strive for good, colorful sentences that show rather then tell in your writing: here is a description of a butterfly from the book "Rabbits: Gentle Hearts" by Marie Mead:
"The butterfly tilted. I saw delicate tremors of lacy wings, the tan underside, the sun's rays piercing the shimmering black veins and tiny white spots in the black borders. We were experiencing the exquisite beauty of the monarch, the pure simplicity of the moment."

A great quote that I just have to share:
"Friends help you move, but good friends help you move bodies."
Happy Tuesday!

A great quote from Russell Conwell (1843-1925), an American writer, minister, and a lawyer: "Within three feet of any man there is something to assure his financial security if he knows where to look." Use that philosophy when you are looking for story ideas!

A great newsletter for writers, if you are looking for tips, articles, contests, and writing residencies:
Funds for Writers by C. Hope Clark. Here is the link: www.fundsforwriters.com. Submit a relevant article to her newsletter- she is a paying market!

A great book to read

Discovered a new book to read: The Cost of Living by Deborah Levy, which talks about Simone de Beauvoir, a leading French female intellectual and a woman ahead of her time. She wrote the internationally bestselling book on the suppression of women, called "Second Sex." Give it a read!

It's Library Week!
Go to your local library, peruse books in your favorite genre, talk to your friendly neighborhood librarians, take your kids, and get re-acquainted with how the library works and what it does for the community. Not to mention all the writing resources on hand, oh my!

REad my writing article!

Read one of my articles on "5 Tips to be a Better Writer" published on the Online Book Club website!
Here is the link: https://forums.onlinebookclub.org/viewtopic.php?f=81&t=39377
Enjoy!

I just discovered a great website that can be helpful to writers!
It's www.writingmaps.com.
Great illustrated maps that can be use to brainstorm and create stories, writer's classes, and zines! My favorite is the Writing in Cafes Map.

Fairy tales are a veritable mine of story ideas, be it Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, or the Puss in Boots. Stories can be even rewritten, so that Cinderella gets a positively feminist spin, where she does something unexpected to help herself without having to marry the prince, or Sleeping Beauty's fair savior who kisses her awake turns out to actually be a princess like in Neil Gaiman's story. Play with story ideas and spin them

so they reflect the more current times.

My book talk and book signing is coming up!
Hear my talk about freelance writing at the Emily Fowler Library, April 24, at 6:30 pm.
Here is the flier and hope to see you there!

A great book quote to brighten up your day!

My pet peeve: lots of writers, sadly, mix the spellings of their, there, and they're.
Here is a good example of a correct usage:

They're having their coffee over there.

They're (contraction of they are)
Their (possessive)
There (location)

 

Want to write better? Read my article "Five tips on becoming a better writer" by yours truly on the OBC web site:
https://forums.onlinebookclub.org/viewtopic.php?f=81&t=39377

Book recommendation- "Herd on the Street" by Ken Wells.
These are animal stories as published over the years at the Wall Street Journal. Most are humorous and are perfect for animal lovers! I am reading a copy now, and it's a book that I can definitely recommend.

Writing Prompt- Airports

Don't know where or what to write? Go to the nearest airport and sit down with you notebook and pen. You do not have to be going anywhere at all, just watch people. Notice their accents and what they are wearing. Do they have pets with them, children? Where do you think they are going? To visit a distant relative or to a funeral? Compile story structures around your favorite people you see, and when you leave the airport, you'll have a plenty of writing material.

Book signing to come soon!

Watch this space for a talk about freelancing and a book signing for my new book of horror stories, Siren's Tears. This would be a good thing for those who want to write for magazines and do not know how to start, as I will be giving the basics in about an hour's time. All are welcome to purchase a signed copy of my new book, if you like horror! It will be in Denton at the Emily Fowler Library at 6:30 pm. Hope to see you there!