Weekly Tales: The Grey Grocer (Part 1)

Every Thursday I have decided to get the writing juices flowing by writing an installment of a serialized story. It is kind of like flash fiction, but I do not know how long the story will be or how many installments I will write.  I will generally write installments until the story reaches a point

Fun With Mindnode

I have seen many posts recently from writers who agonize over organization or simply coming up with great ideas.  My suggestion is to pop on over to Mindnode and download a copy of their program today. Mindnode is a program that works like a virtual chalkboard.  Upon opening the program, you are given a blank screen

The Importance of Outlining

I have taught Advanced Placement writing for over 13 years and have been a writer for over 25 years.  I can tell you that one of the most important skills a writer can develop is an ability to outline. First of all, I want to make sure that the reader understands the difference between outlining

Bored With Your Own Writing: 5 Things To Do To Not Become Stagnant

I wrote 6 chapters and did tons of research on my latest novel until I really hit my stride and found out that I would have to rewrite the entire thing.  I’m still writing a post-apocalyse novel about the biblical end times, but the effort I put into the first six chapters bored me silly.

Shifting Gears: When Your Novel Idea Turns Into a Novel Roadblock

I had this great idea for a novel.  This idea has actually evolved into six very good chapters.  Now I’m not so sure they are that good. I’m currently writing a post-apocalyptic novel about how I used to think the world might end.  As a Christian, I believe that the Bible is truth, but didn’t

Top 10 Cool Things About Scrivener

I know I’ve written a great deal about Scrivener on my blog, but really, it is one of the best programs for writers out there, and has the potential to help any writer boost their skills through organization, ease of use, and production to multiple formats. First, get the program here.  It costs $49, which

How To Use Scrivener to Format a Createspace PDF Interior for Publication

So you’ve written your masterpiece and you want to publish to Amazon Createspace because you just can’t stand another rejection notice and want to see it in print, or you want your friends to buy the book so you can have the satisfaction of becoming a published author.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with this,

The Myth of Writer’s Block

I have taught AP Composition for over 10 years.  One of the things that students always complain about is what they call “writer’s block”.  I am convinced, after years of writing, that writer’s block does not exist, and is a concept created by a media culture to explain a simple phenomenon of laziness. A great