A "tell" in poker is a subtle clue by which a player unintentionally communicates something about his or her hand. Telling is not good in a poker game, nor is it good in fiction. A recent discovery reminded me just how potent not telling can be. * * I'd heard her name over the years... Continue Reading →
My mother held that the secret to a good pie was in the shortening. She would be happy to learn the same principle might be applied to fiction. I'll admit it: I'm a long-form gal. There's nothing I love better than curling up in bed on a Friday evening and losing myself in a novel.... Continue Reading →
I am a great outliner. I've written marketing plans, communications plans, white papers, newsletter articles, and magazine articles. For almost all of them, I have used MS Word's outline feature to organize my thoughts and the flow of the piece---usually before I write very many words. My fiction, on the other hand, I outline only... Continue Reading →
I took a break this past week from my novel-in-progress to finish up a short story for submission to the San Mateo County Fair Literary Anthology. Pig races and high art Now, who even knew that the San Mateo County Fair had a Literary Arts Department? Certainly I didn't. The last time I went to... Continue Reading →
