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Potholes

July 4, 2022 Paul 1 Comment

Sometimes you don’t see a pothole in the road until you’ve smashed into it. The same is true of plot…

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Something like “method writing”

May 11, 2022 Paul 1 Comment

Creating realistic characters for me is like method acting. That may be a bit overstated. Method actors strive to inhabit…

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Encountering Writer’s Block

April 7, 2022 Paul Leave a comment

Some 35,000 words into Empty Luck, perhaps half way, I encountered the dreaded Writer’s Block. I had managed to paint…

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Plot and Character

March 2, 2022 Paul Leave a comment

Here’s what I’ve learned:  The funny thing about fiction is it’s only good if it reads like a true story.…

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Sometimes Less Is Better

January 26, 2022 Paul Leave a comment

Occasionally, less description is better. Writers want to describe. And readers want to feel.  But how do we get the…

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Pick a Hero

December 22, 2021 Paul Leave a comment

I’ve been struggling with my latest project, a novel tentatively titled Empty Luck.  I know what it is about and…

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Points of View

November 18, 2021 Paul 3 Comments

In my current book project, I have a bit of a quandary. Although the same concern occurred in my earlier…

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Message or not?

October 14, 2021 Paul Leave a comment

Does a good novel need a message? Does it need to say something important about the human condition, offer some…

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Avoid Repetition

September 8, 2021 Paul Leave a comment

One of the easiest mistakes we writers make, or as least I make, is repeating an idea. Once I have…

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Ordinary Grace

August 4, 2021 Paul Leave a comment

I’m going to depart from the usual posts about my writing and talk instead about my reading. I am a…

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