Words Written
I do not expect, or even hope...
...to be able to please every reader.
And I do not count words as I write.
On A Scroll
I have spent a lot of time recently staring at and frantically typing more of the new manuscript. One thing I have learned since 2013 is that there is no easy way to write a novel. Don't believe anyone who tells you it is not a big effort.
Lost In “The Crowd?”
This post is perhaps mostly for you other author "nerds" out there, I guess. I am sure you have your opinion on this too. I hope, though, others of you might find it interesting, of course.
Extraordinary Times
Given my relatively low author profile, when I think about it I am awestruck at how many of my books have been bought over the years. But this 2020 is not just any year; these are extraordinary times.
Those “Mean” French (Again)
There seems something in the American psyche that is incapable of treating French people, as, well, ordinary people. That is probably because it is drilled into the American subconscious by now almost from birth that "the French" stand out among Europeans as particularly "mean"...
Back To Book World
I HATE talking politics on here. However, there are those moments in our lives when SOME things MUST be made ABSOLUTELY clear.
Now, back to books...
Three Author Rules (I Try To Adhere To)
Maybe as a consequence of my stance I don't attract quite as many readers overall. I don't care. My conscience is clear.
In More Recent Times
I opened in 2013 with a modern travel novel, and two sequels, set in the 1990s and written of course in our current day English. If you have been with me since before 2017, you know. If you don't...
One (I Hope) In 2021 (That Will Be Nearly Two Years In The Writing)
I did not create this web site until December 2013 - which was after I had published my first book: I believed I had to have stuck my neck out fully before I could offer reasonable opinions on writing and authoring. Having created an "author Twitter account" in August 2019 - after four additional books, and nearly six years since that first - and observing what I see on that platform, I detect some tweeting writers are full of (to be polite) hot air.
Read more One (I Hope) In 2021 (That Will Be Nearly Two Years In The Writing)
Just Stuff
Yesterday was F. Scott Fitzgerald's birthday. He was born on September 24, 1896, in St. Paul, Minnesota...
Recalling his birthday led me to want to visit once more with a relatively random few of Twitter's writers...
“Her eyes…”
A few minutes of authoring fun.
These were written by a few of literature's great authors, who have been read for generations so far and are likely to be read for many generations to follow us.
Note the highlighted sentence in each picture.
The History Decree
That ignoramus who does not know one of the most basic facts about the history of the presidency actually has the nerve to lecture professional historians that he knows what constitutes "patriotic" history.
Rule #1: What Books Do You Read?
Wait a minute? Hold it? None of those are "writing manuals?"
Uh, in fact, they are THE BEST WRITING "MANUALS."
A Call From Prague
On Sunday night Father Face-timed me from Pennsylvania saying a woman from Prague phoned and left a message. (No, "A Woman from Prague" is not a book or story title. It could be, though.) She was evidently looking for me. But I have never even been to Prague.
But Twitter Can Still Be Fun
Yesterday I was pretty harsh about some "writing chat" on Twitter. That was in the context of those who use the platform for - I feel - professional exposure, yet appear to back away from actually saying much of anything truly substantive. A writer must never be fearful and bland.
