Bronchitis: A Writers Enemy

I’ve had bronchitis (possibly pneumonia) since last Tuesday evening. It has kept me near bedridden for nearly a week. I went to work today and had to come home early because I was dizzy from lack of oxygen and felt like every effort to do something physical sapped all my strength. Here’s hoping a few

Originally posted on Writing English:
UPDATE: Tens of thousands of readers have found this post and hundreds of you have commented. A few have said that these analogies were actually taken from other sources and were not written by high school kids at all. Now, we have a link that ends the debate. These analogies…

Writer Beware!

While researching the ins and outs of self-publishing, I ran across a handy little blog that has been instrumental in helping me be aware of the darker corners of the industry.  This blog is called “Writer Beware” and can be found here. I wanted all the self-publishing readers out there who read me to see

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

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

Notes From the NICU: Paperback Version Release

Today is the day that my newest book hits the Amazon digital shelves.  You can find it here. The paperback edition of my book “Notes From the NICU: Overcoming Catastrophic Trial” is a labor of love.  I wrote it to help people dealing with very hard suffering.  It is a book to help people not

Christmas Memories

Today marks the second Christmas Eve without my Dad.  I think of all the holidays, this holiday was Dad’s favorite.  He would never be in a bad mood on this day, he would always smile, want to go out to breakfast with me at the local cafe. Dad was always difficult to buy for.  This

First Person and Suspense

Probably one of the biggest hurdles I have had to jump writing my latest novel is point of view. I thought of writing it in first person but then if I were to put my hero in peril (and I will several times) the reader has the happy place of knowing that the hero is

Amazon Createspace Publishing

I am in the middle of trying to work the kinks out of my experience with Amazon’s Createspace publishing site.  It is a love/hate relationship, but the benefits to publishing are pretty cool. Amazon will publish your book completely free of charge if you want, and all you have to do is order one proof