Let me begin by saying that I love to write.  Most days I enjoy building worlds, creating unique characters and letting stories unfold. Note that I said “Most days”. There are times when I simply cannot get myself motivated to write.  Some might call it writer’s block, but not me.  For me it’s usually because I have too many things I want to write.  I kid you not, too much of a good thing can prove overwhelming.  That was the case the past 10 days or so. I have no shortage of writing and projects on the go:  my fantasy novel rewrite, my Critters submissions, my Nano novel to plot, query letters to send out and the list goes on. […]

I have trouble writing scenes.  Usually I feel that my description of the setting is too lean.  I like to let people use their imaginations, but I don’t think I give them enough to work with. That is a far cry from how I used to write.  When I first started writing I was always trying to paint beautiful pictures that flew on wings of purple prose.  I thought I needed to be both poetic and thorough to be a good writer.  Somewhere along the way (during my writing course, I think) I did a complete 180 degree turn and went minimal. Which way is right?  Looking at the writing I’m doing now I would say that neither is the […]

(Warning… the following post contains excessive use of the word “critique”… Viewer discretion is advised.) I think I may have mentioned it but three weeks ago I joined critters.org (www.critters.org) an online critique group.  The premise of the site is simple:  you critique other’s work and get credits for the critiques and, in turn, you can submit your work to be critiqued. Sounds simple enough, right?  In fact, it is simple; the site sends you three selections to critique every week and all you have to do to stay a member in good standing is keep up a 75% critique ratio (3 critiques completed every 4 weeks).  Members are also asked to keep the critiques professional and are advised to […]