Want to hear something amusing?  It occurred to me that my mother might read this, or my aunt, both of whom I love dearly (who will call me on this)…and I nearly censored myself.  Ironic?  I think so.  So sorry Mom and Auntie T., but that’s just what censorship is. Ooookay, and this post starts now. Today’s link is to 25 Banned Books That You Should Read Today. The idea of banning books amazes me.  The only reason I can think of that libraries and schools would ban books is because parents are too lazy to parent their children.  We’re not talking going into theRead More →

So, I’m attempting to write my first synopsis. And it’s bringing back all these horrible memories of being paralyzed with fear–literally, can’t write a word, paralyzed–when I first started writing and I read all of these how-to books and web sites. Here’s what I’ve gathered, so far: It’s the opposite of show-not-tell.  Tell, tell, tell!  Okay, so do what I spent ages learning how not to do?) Tell your whole story, don’t leave unanswered questions.  But leave out the parts, like secondary characters and subplots, that aren’t important to the developing relationship.  (Well, if they’re not important, why are they in the book at all?)Read More →

I’m editing. Yes, still. And I’m having one of those moments, you know, when you want to smack yourself on the forehead, but instead of saying, “You could’ve had a V8!” you say, “How could you not have known that?!” Backstory. Oh, sure, I had backstory. I knew all about my heroine’s childhood, her parents, how she lost her virginity, and how she lost her true love. She’s 30. That’s up to about 20. I had even less for my hero. See, here’s what got me: the story starts when the action begins. That’s one of those Rules. Notice the capital R? Rules. The RulesRead More →