The Fear of Writing Real Characters Writing strong, interesting characters is not easy. Many writers use real people, or combinations of real people, as the basis for their characters. Because they are, in essence, real people, readers relate to them. It’s no surprise then, that quite a few authors base their protagonists or at least […]
Your Characters Don’t Have To Be Pretty I was reading a mystery book the other night and a few pages into it, one of the main characters was introduced. The author did a fantastic job of describing how beautiful she was. I was in awe of this author’s talents. I could picture everything about her […]
Conflicting Characters I write crime novels, mysteries, thrillers, fantasy…no matter what you call them, they’re fiction books. But just because they’re fiction doesn’t mean they’re not real. What the hell does that mean? Some readers have written to me and asked how I make my characters seem so real. I thought about that and then […]
Stereotypical Characters I was reading a book the other night and the author—in order to elicit sympathy for the hero—painted the mother-in-law as an extremely annoying…bitch. No other way to say it. It got me thinking about mother-in-laws and how they always seem to draw the short straw. You can’t argue it. Mothers-in-law get a […]
What My Animals Teach Me About Writing. There are thousands of books for sale that offer advice on writing, but I don’t buy any of them. I have all the advice I need right here on the animal sanctuary. There is nothing like several dozen animals to teach you about…well…damn near anything. It seems like […]
Mixing Concrete is Like Writing a Great Book I started out my “work life” mixing concrete. Concrete is extremely strong. It’s used for roads, for foundations that hold up skyscrapers and bridges, in dams that hold back rivers and lakes. There isn’t anything that can take the place of concrete. And the most amazing thing […]
Substance Abuse Addiction and substance abuse affect almost every family in the country. If you don’t have someone in your family afflicted, or a relative, chances are you know someone. Growing up I didn’t realize this. Back then it was the kind of thing that was kept hidden. That uncle who was so hilarious was […]
