3 days agoMember-onlyHow to Write a Novel based on Your LifeNovel or memoir, which is best? — Last year as I debated whether I wanted to write my dad’s immigration story, I asked myself many questions. The first question was why? What was the point of writing this story? Who would care? Before embarking on a writing journey, the writer needs to understand the why. …Storytelling7 min readStorytelling7 min read
Jan 20Member-onlyMy Memories of Living in ArgentinaAnd how they influence my writing — Back in the mid-80s my father decided to send me and my brother (California kids) to Argentina to get to know our relatives and his country. This is what he told us. The truth was that my parents were having financial difficulties and were about to lose our home. …Argentina5 min readArgentina5 min read
Jan 19Member-onlyPeople Who Can Help You Write Your NovelIt takes a team to write and publish a book — These days, so many people are willing to help writers write their novel. I see many ads pop up on social media stating that they can make you an author in a month. Yeah, okay. I even attended one of those “challenges”, at least the first couple of days, and…Writer5 min readWriter5 min read
Jan 14Member-onlyEnvisioning Your AudienceQuestions writers should ask about their audiences — I’m teaching college students about audience today. Every writer, from creatives to business executives, to students learning to write must ask him or herself questions about their audience before writing a word. Students may not know this, but those who have been writing for a while know it’s important to…Readers4 min readReaders4 min read
Jan 12Member-onlyCreating a Beautiful PlannerWhat is the point? — My daughter asked me what I wanted for Christmas, and I shrugged. I didn’t want much, but I said I could use more stickers for my planner. She’d once told me that she couldn’t understand why I bothered adding stickers to my planner and making it look pretty. “What a…Planner6 min readPlanner6 min read
Jan 9Member-onlyHow to Write Unlikable CharactersAnd why you might want to — The first fiction novel I chose to read this year was about a 30-something woman who cheats on her husband with a married man. Her marriage falls apart, his doesn’t. She has a number of bad dates while she continues to date the married man . . . blah, blah…Character Development7 min readCharacter Development7 min read
Jan 5Member-onlyWriting Changes in 2023Let’s get started — Here we are in the first week of the new year, so what will change? How will the publishing industry change in 2023? What writing opportunities will you create? How will technology make writing more difficult or easier for us? Most importantly, what will you change in your life to…New Year5 min readNew Year5 min read
Jan 2Member-onlyWriting Your Author BioTell us who you are — Whether you want to be a novelist, a journalist, a blogger, or an artist or speaker of any type, you will at some point be asked to submit a short or long bio of yourself. My Medium bio is honestly uninspiring, and I’ve been thinking of changing it and depending…Biography4 min readBiography4 min read
Dec 30, 2022Member-onlyYour Spiritual Co-WriterWriting with or without your muse — Years ago, I read Big Magic by Elizbeth Gilbert and it is still one of my favorite books. It’s all about creativity: embracing, fostering, and celebrating one’s creativity. There were many gems in her book, but one section that I found interesting, and cute in a way, was where she…Creativity5 min readCreativity5 min read
Dec 26, 2022Member-onlyKeep Writing with PassionInspire others with what you love — As we come to the end of the year, I’m looking forward and wondering what I should write about next year. Should I expand my “how to write” blogs and delve into other topics? Should I stick to what I know and feel comfortable sharing or move beyond my comfort…Passion4 min readPassion4 min read