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How to write a novel in twelve (easy) steps
There are steps for everything these days, so I reverse-engineered what I did to become a writer to put the process into 12 steps. The steps were easy sometimes, and other times, they caused some tears. The end result was worth all the effort. Step 1: Read a lot Without reading, what’s the point of writing? Reading everything I could get my hands on when I was a kid developed my love of reading and also made me think about some things I would like to read that were not available. Don’t just read fiction. Read about the art of writing to learn everything you can. Take a writing class…
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For the love of travel (for work): Seattle
One of the perks of my job at the university is the privilege to travel for professional development. During spring break (for the college students and my elementary school children), I attended the 2018 CASE Editors Forum in Seattle, Washington. Not only had I never attended this conference before, but I’d never been to Seattle. Due to having to fly across two time zones (I live in Arkansas) and the start time of the conference on Wednesday, March 21, I had to travel the day before. It was interesting, to say the least. For the first time ever, I set off the metal detector at the Little Rock Airport. What…
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2017 in (book) review
I fell in love with reading when I was a kid. I devoured books from the school library and used all my allowance money each month to purchase the next Baby-Sitters Club book in the series until I had almost the whole collection. Later, as a teen, I discovered the book section at our local Goodwill, a store I still frequent today. Back in the mid-90s, paperbacks there were 50 cents each (now they’re $1). Through my purchases at the Goodwill, I discovered Stephen King and V.C. Andrews novels (the ones she actually wrote before the “trust” pirated and diluted her memory—another story for another day) that I was probably…
