My favorite thing about taking part in speaking engagements and book events is that they always afford the opportunity for a round of questions and answers.  There is a genuine interest among audiences in the creative process, and never a shortage of questions about what goes into putting together a short story or crafting a full length novel.   I'm always excited to talk about the writing process, whether the conversation revolves around the nuts-and-bolts topics of plot structure and character development, or the more intangible notion of where ideas come from.   I'm also pleased to answer questions and offer advice to other writers, whether they've been at it for years or they're just about to start their very first story.

 

To that end, I've added this area to my website with the hope of passing on many of the tricks I've learned and philosophies I've adopted in all the years I've been enjoying the bite of the writing bug.  On this page, you will find posts of various lengths, covering topics that range from the importance of creating the perfect opening sentence to the difficulty involved in writing yourself out of a corner (yes, it does happen).  I will try to post once a week, and will make a serious attempt to vary the topics as often as I can.  Naturally, some aspects of the writing process will require more attention than others, and so, with that in mind, I have decided to sort the posts into separate sub-pages.  Anything pertaining to creating characters and their motivations, for instance, will appear on the CHARACTERIZATION page.  Of course, there will always be a certain amount of bleed-through from topic to topic, as some tips can encompass more than one facet of writing, but I will try my absolute best to sort the posts accurately.     

 

I've also included a contact area below, through which I hope you will post questions about the process.  Not only will I be pleased to answer them to the best of my ability via e-mail, your questions, suggestions and feedback will also help shape future columns or areas of instruction. 

 

At the end of the day, all of the advice offered here will be based on my own experiences, and what works for me will, of course, not always work for every writer out there.  With that in mind, I hope you will find something of value here, and that some of it might help answer your questions and guide you towards the same love for writing I've been lucky enough to enjoy for so many years.