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Plotting and Writing a (Perfect) Novel

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I’ve thought a lot about how to approach this post. I mean, what IS a perfect novel anyway. And perhaps that is the point. There really is no such thing. One person’s masterpiece may be unreadable by another person. That also raises the question, “Should a writer simply be trying to write the novel everyone wants?” To that question, I guess I can only say, why not, but then, who is Everyone? We all want success so why not write something that will be popular? The thing is, while I am able to write in multiple genres, the trick for me is to actually CARE about the story I’m writing. If I don’t have some sort of connection to it, I […]

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Radio Plays & Serialized Stories

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When I was a kid, we only ever listened to one radio station. It was a local station that played round-the-clock country music. Not a terrible thing, but also not something that gave me any real exposure to the broader pleasures radio could bring. It wasn’t until many years later that I discovered radio plays. In fact, I think the first one I ever listened to was Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (BBC – Douglas Adams). To this day, that story is one of my favorites and definitely defines my sense of humour. Then I discovered (this time, only a scant few years ago) Decoder Ring Theatre. I reveled in the wonderful stories and excellent production values I found there. […]

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Writing (Perfect) Beginnings

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Last week I talked a bit about how I wanted to be a perfect writer when I first seriously started trying to get published. That resulted in excessively long timelines to get anything done and probably much more stress than I ever wanted or needed. But I’m not talking about being a perfect writer today (or for that matter, trying to be one). No. Instead, I’m talking about Perfect Beginnings and trying to create them. Why? Because I’m sure many of you have read the same books I have. You know the ones – they talk about how critically important it is to have an engaging first sentence/paragraph/scene/chapter? So, having read that bit of advice and because the first sentence […]

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Milestone Unlocked – Sidebar post

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Yesterday I hit another major milestone in my life. I wrote and passed my Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification Exam. What does that have to do with writing? Not much…and at the same time, everything. The PMP is important to my ongoing (non-writing) career. It will help pay the bills in ways my writing currently isn’t. It was also taking all of my focus away from everything else. Also, if you haven’t discovered this yet, being able to schedule and organize (which are components of the PMP) are kind of important in everything you do, including your writing. To celebrate, I’m going to do something I haven’t done in quite a while – Read a book.

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