Posts Tagged ‘Writing’
I WISH I WERE A BETTER WRITER
For reasons I can’t explain, or even understand, my recent visit to southeastern Alaska’s Misty Fjords triggered a deep emotional response within me. My wife Barbara urged me to write about it before my feelings became lost in my own mists of memory. So I did. I wish I were a better writer. I wish…
Read MoreTHE FAIRY TALE CONTINUES–BARBARA AND BUZZ
The fairy tale continues. The rise of what I like to think of as Schloss Bernard, my new writer’s studio—my castle—signals the beginning of a new phase of my life. I have a few weeks remaining in Georgia before I, and my Shih-Tzu buddy, Stormy, wing our way west to where the freshly-minted Mrs. Bernard,…
Read MoreIT’S A PIECE OF CRAP
My adult grandson (who is special needs but high functioning) and I were cleaning out my garage recently. He found something bulky wrapped in a trash bag and opened it. “Hey, Gramps,” he says, “what’s this?” I look over his shoulder. It was something I’d forgotten about. “It’s a typewriter,” I say. “A what?” “Typewriter.”…
Read MoreWHAT I DID ON MY SUMMER VA . . . STAYCATION
It’s been a rough year for me—in truth, for everyone—and I decided I really needed to get away from it all. I needed a vacation. Unfortunately, that little virus thingy dictated that the v-a part of the “cation” word be substituted with s-t-a-y. Stay? Nope, not me. Why let a trivial matter like a pandemic…
Read MoreYOU GOTTA HAVE A THICK SKIN
As a novelist, you gotta have a thick skin. It takes a thick skin to get there—being a published author—because along the way you’re going to get hammered with a lot of criticism and rejection. Much of the criticism, if it’s done correctly, will be constructive guidance from fellow writers. It’s part of how you…
Read MoreTHE SHANGRI-LA RAIDERS
Apparently I’m a historical fiction novelist now. My initial foray into the field, When Heroes Flew, has proven surprisingly successful. On Amazon, the novel racked up over 100 reviews in less than a month, eclipsing tallies for my previous books—even those of my flagship Eyewall—by a number of weeks! Not only that, but the reviews…
Read MoreHOW BEING A WRITER IS LIKE BEING A QUARTERBACK ON A BAD TEAM
Those of you who’ve been in the writing business for awhile and have attempted to get traditionally published know what a discouraging, demeaning, difficult challenge that is. It’s like being a quarterback on a football team with a porous offensive line. You know you’re going to get sacked frequently. Only in the book business, you…
Read MoreGRINDING OUT OREGON GRINDER
Last October, I wrote a blog about why, as an author, I was switching genres, summing up the reason with the statement “because I want to.” That’s true. But there’s also a hidden story behind the reason. It deals with weather, the framework for three of my five previous novels. (As many of you may recall,…
Read MoreBIG WORDS VS. LITTLE ONES
One of the beta-readers for my forthcoming novel, FIREWIND, took me to task (which is what I expect beta-readers to do) for using several “big” or “obscure” words when more common words would have sufficed. He pointed out, correctly, that readers get annoyed if they have to constantly refer to a dictionary. In truth, novelists are…
Read MorePRESUMPTUOUS?
As I touted the Southeastern Writers Association annual workshop (June 16-20 on St. Simons Island, Georgia) to a fellow writer recently, he interrupted me by saying he thought it “presumptuous” to assume that a professional author could “teach” writing to someone. That took me aback, but in way, I suppose he was correct. I’ve listened…
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