What’s more important, a strong first line or a strong first paragraph? I posed this question on Twitter the other day and received an amazing number of responses (and retweets). There were a variety of replies, but the consensus opinion was that a strong opening paragraph was more important. I agree, despite the fact that,… Continue reading The Cold Open
Writer’s Guilt
Confession time – I feel guilty when I have some free time and don’t spend it writing. It’s strange because I love to write, I need to write, but there are some moments when I simply want to unplug my brain and do something else. Usually, it’s something unproductive, like play a game on my… Continue reading Writer’s Guilt
Why I Write
As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve been writing stories and poems for as long as I can remember. I started in early childhood, inspired by song lyrics and the wide variety of books handed down to me by much older family members. As I grew older I began keeping a journal, writing down story ideas, exploring… Continue reading Why I Write
Publishing
I’m amazed at how much publishing has changed over the past decade or two. When I was first becoming serious about being a writer, I would spend hours looking for magazines to submit my work to. This was at the very beginnings of the internet as we now know it. There wasn’t much out there… Continue reading Publishing
Humble brag
My short story, "Reflections in Blue Water", was just published at the Blue Lake Review. This is probably the most mainstream story I've written, but I'm proud of it. Enjoy! RB
Writing by the Rules
I read a post on Twitter the other day asking the #WritingCommunity what their feelings were in regards to using adverbs and adjectives in their work. There’s a lot of debate on this - should a writer purge all the adverbs and adjectives from their text? Can we use a few now and then? The… Continue reading Writing by the Rules
First Draft
I’ve finished the first draft of my first real novel (I’ve made a few failed, half-hearted attempts in the past) and found the process exciting and exhausting. As I noted to the writing community on Twitter earlier this week, I felt like I had run a marathon. Because of that, I’m setting the draft aside… Continue reading First Draft
Highway Thoughts
Whenever I travel by road, especially on the Interstate Highways, I find my mind wandering into the landscape that passes by the windows. You’ve seen those long empty stretches, no exits, no towns or cities nearby, just endless thickets of trees or acres of rolling fields. I often wonder what it would be like to… Continue reading Highway Thoughts
Happy New Year – 2019
Here we are - a new start in a new year. I’m not one for making resolutions for the new year. I think it’s good to have goals, but I don’t like to use the new year as a benchmark. Some goals are easier than others, so some can be achieved quickly (then you’re done)… Continue reading Happy New Year – 2019
Evolution of Language
One of the aspects of reading and writing that I find fascinating is the evolution of language. I’m one of those people who likes to read the occasional classic piece of literature (think Dickens, Tolstoy, Gogol, etc.) and I’m always amazed when I finish an older novel or story collection and then dive into something… Continue reading Evolution of Language