Tag: Author Craft

In One Ear and Out the Other

  A waitress at a nice restaurant my wife and I like to frequent said, “No Problem,” after I thanked her for topping off our water glasses. I asked her, “what would be a problem?” She just stared at me. I asked her, “If freshening my water isn’t a problem, would sending back my meal …

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An Experiment

Hot Blacktop started as an experiment. I wanted to find out if I could produce a well-devised chapter each month. On July 10th, 2015 I did just that. The journey has been fulfilling. I’ve written, with the help of my editor, Phil, a work that I’m proud of to call a success. Now that I’ve …

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Wordplay: My Geek Is Showing

I failed my children by not pushing them further in studying spelling and vocabulary. One of my sons, a senior in high school, said to me that he just doesn’t know very many words. His limited repertoire made writing essays for his college applications a difficult and grueling process. Writing never came easily to him. …

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What is Writing?

What is writing to you? Writing can mean many things to different people. 1–Writing is exhausting. Remembering the rules of syntax and sentence structure is a struggle. Perfection halts our progress putting words to paper. 1–Writing is exhilarating. Initially, don’t worry about spelling and sentence structure. There is a freedom to words. Getting your struggles …

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How Important is the Title?

What weight should we give to the title of a novel? If the sum of a book is 100%, is the title worth 20% or 80%? On the one hand, if the title isn’t catchy then potential book buyers may never pick it up. All the efforts the author has put in will never be …

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