The Five Ws Who, What, When, Where, Why? Every journalist and journalism student has those five questions burned into their brains. A reporter tries to answer the five Ws within the first paragraph or two. For example, a good lead might be: A young Kansas (WHERE) girl named Dorothy (WHO) is missing (WHAT) after a tornado […]

Why is She Laughing? When I gave a workshop on women’s humor recently at the Surrey International Writers Festival I was asked to post my book list of chick lit titles. I’m a romance author, so when I talk about Chick Lit, I’m speaking as a fan and not as any kind of expert. However, I believe when […]

I’ve been really looking at my days lately, trying to work out where my time goes and how to get everything done. I’ve read umpteen books with titles such as: Time Management for the Stressed, Housework in Ten Minutes a Day or Less, Organize Your Life Right Now…you know the ones. Some smarmy expert makes it […]

I was thinking about how often we refer to good dialogue as ‘sparkling’. For some reason, thirst perhaps, the word sparkling immediately made me think about my favorite beverage — champagne. Then, probably to keep my mind off drinking in the afternoon, I began to think about how much in common champagne has with good dialogue, and […]

Few things strike terror into the hearts of conference goers more than the dreaded editor or agent appointment, and yet few opportunities at a writing conference are more valuable. Here, then, are a few tips to make the experience less terrifying and more valuable. 1. SIGN UP.   Just do it. Yes, I know, those people are from […]

Have you ever noticed how a theme will suddenly develop around you? Serendipitous events occur, snatches of speech overheard begin to form a pattern, and you think, I need to pay attention to this. Recently, I was at dinner with some dear friends. She is an English major, as am I, and she told me that she’s counseling […]

What is it about coffee shops that kick start a writer’s muse? I first tried hauling my laptop to my local java hut after reading Natalie Goldberg’s books. Natalie, author of Writing  Down the Bones and Wild Mind, suggests writing in coffee shops and I was at the point where if someone had advised painting my face blue and chanting […]