Endings....

I'm nearing the end of my WIP and I gotta tell you I'm struggling a bit. I knew from the beginning how this book would end, but I can't quite figure out how exactly I want to pull everything together. To be honest, I feel a bit overwhelmed. And I think that my fear of not doing the book justice is definitely not helping the creative process. So I've been thinking about it, working it out in my head, turning ideas over and over in my head. But I think I'll just have to dig in and write. I have to start somewhere, right?   

Do you ever struggle with endings? Do you have a favorite last line from a book? Here are some:

1. He loved Big Brother. –George Orwell, 1984 (1949)
2. And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One! –Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol (1843)
3. Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody. –J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye (1951)
4. "Tomorrow, I’ll think of some way to get him back. After all, tomorrow is another day." –Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind (1936)
5.After a while I went out and left the hospital and walked back to the hotel in the rain. –Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms (1929)

A visit to Borders

I wasn’t ready for it, didn’t expect the wave of grief that washed over me when I walked through the doors of our local Borders. My lips quivered and I swallowed hard, like I was forcing a softball down my tight, dry throat.

Truth is I’m losing a friend – a really good friend – and it completely sucks.

This is the place my teenage sons found refuge on a weekend night and I knew they would be safe nestled in a corner reading a book or paging through a magazine while sipping hot chocolate in the cafe. This is the place where I’d lug my laptop (hoping to find a table by an outlet) to write the day away. A place that’s been my home away from home for so long that I know every nook and cranny.

Everything in the store was for sale – even the shelves. Items were priced at 50 percent off and some were even 70 percent off. I grabbed three neat bags (which I planned to buy and give as gifts) and filled them with numerous items. There was the Hooked on Phonics Discover Reading: Toddler Edition, the Wimpy Kid Scrabble Game, five different desk calendars, eight books and a bunch of other stuff. I figured that at these prices I could do a lot of Christmas shopping, and I did. In fact, I had to ask to leave the three bags that I had filled at the counter so I could continue shopping. They were too heavy to carry.

When I finally checked out, I was happy for all the neat Christmas presents I had bought and the money I had saved, but I was sad for the reason why.


I have so many wonderful memories of Borders. There was the time my sons and I waited with hundreds of other people in the crowded store for the midnight release of the last Harry Potter book. The times I’d meet a fellow writer for coffee and we’d gab the night away outlining our stories, helping each other with plot points and dreaming of the day our books would grace the store shelves.


As I left the store I sniffed and my son asked if I was all right. “Yeah,” I told him. “I just wasn’t prepared for how I would feel. I wish I could rewrite the ending.”


Do you have any Borders memories you’d like to share. I’d love to hear them.

Minute List: Back to school

Let's do a minute list with a back to school theme. You know the drill. Use one word to describe the following. Mine is in ()'s. Copy and paste list into comments and add yours. Should only take a minute.

Backpack (heavy)
Pencil (mechanical)
Teacher (demanding)
Class (boring)
Lunch (expensive)
Bus (crowded)
Cellphone (forbidden)
Dress code (strict)
Test (multiple choice)
Recess (fun)

Getting mixed messages

I read a blog post (or two or three) in the past that cautioned about mentioning new technology or the names of current popular songs, movies etc. in your book. And yet a very popular YA series I'm reading mentions these things all of the time.

So here's my question, what do you do? Do you write cellphone, texting, iPad, laptop, etc.? Would you write that your protagonist went to see "The Help" or had Katy Perry's "Firework" for a ringtone? And does it make a difference if what you mention is a classic, like a Beatles song or a book like "The Catcher in the Rye?"

Would love to hear your thoughts. 

Back from Disney

Well, I'm back from Disney. We had a great time as usual. For as many times as I've been there I never tire of that magical place. I love the story of Walt Disney, a man who had a dream and never gave up on it despite numerous setbacks and huge financial losses. I love that he remained a kid at heart and admired his creativity, drive, passion, work ethic, optimism and too many other adjectives to list. So I start my way back to work and the blogging world with these quotes from Walt:

"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them."

"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them."

"The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing."

"When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionable."

"You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you."

And for the writers and readers in all of us:

"There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate's loot on Treasure Island."

Unplugged...but I'll be back

Hey gang, I'm on vacation through Aug. 23. I hope that the ink continues to flow and that you have many writing successes. I'll see you in two weeks!

Check out this social media counter

Check out this social media counter. Way cool.



What do you think? Do the numbers surprise you?

Quote of the day

"You must write every single day of your life…You must lurk in libraries and climb the stacks like ladders to sniff books like perfumes and wear books like hats upon your crazy heads….may you be in love every day for the next 20,000 days. And out of that love, remake a world." --Ray Bradbury

When the writing gets tough

A friend emailed to ask how my writing was going. I told her that I've been praying a lot about the book I'm writing. That it's been difficult because I'm dealing with a very dysfunctional family, and I write things that I  can't imagine an adult ever saying to a child and about really mean things that girls do to my character. I don't have any experience to draw on from my own life so it's a real challenge.

At the same time, I feel God is helping me, leading me down this path to find the right words at the right time. I hope that in the end, it's a powerful story of redemption. I can't wait until I write the ending because it's going to take the reader by total surprise, I think. There's a twist that gives us hope and a peace of mind and a reminder that love can overcome even the darkest moments of our lives. 

Have you had a similar experience in your writing? Have you written horrible things that you can only imagine but have no real-life experience with? How do you handle it? I find myself even crying at times, my heart feels so broken and I ache for this character. I'd love to hear your thoughts. 

Verbs, verbs, verbs

Last week, I had the opportunity to tune into a webinar by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jacqui Banaszynski. Jacqui has spent 30 years in the newspaper business, both as a reporter and editor. She holds a Knight Chair professorship at the Missouri School of Journalism, is an editing fellow at the Poynter Institute and coaches student and professional journalists around the world.

Her webinar was on Adding Verbs with Verve and Volume to Your Writing. Here’s some of what she had to say. I’m sharing it with my literary friends because I think that what she says applies to all writing. So, here’s what I remember:

1.Verbs drive sentences and hold them together. Nouns label; without verbs, they do nothing.

2. The strongest writing is visual, and verbs achieve this. Paint pictures with verbs.

3. Verbs drive the bus (and the story). They drive the action and draw the reader in.

4. Verbs attribute. Do not “trick them out.” “Said” says it all. Don’t say “articulated” or “reiterated.” Say “said.” Readers will read right over “said.” Don’t dress up the part of speech that doesn’t need to be dressed up. “A pig is a pig is a pig and it’s just fine.”

5. Also, watch loaded verbs, such as acknowledged, argued, defended.

6. On whether to use “says” or “said,” Jacqui says that “said” feels more definitive and declarative while “says” feels more casual and timeless.

7. Ditch the adverbs. –ly adverbs just make work awkward. Read your writing out loud. Look at all the –ly verbs and try to find a better verb. ie. instead of walked heavily, say trudged. Instead of sang lustily, use belted or wailed.

8. Better to use strong verb to show rather than adverb to tell.

9. Verbs elevate.

10. Verbs show energy and action.

11. Verbs put you in the scene.

12. Verbs show (the visible, emotional and metaphorical) ie. slouched is a verb that shows action

13. Verbs add (or subtract) volume. Don’t overdo them, though.

14. Verbs bend time. Writers struggle with transitions. Change verb tense to change time or tone.

15. Verbs surprise. Ie. Sun slams down. Insects buzz. Pregnant moon rises.

16. Verbs provide structure. Keep them parallel for power.

17. Jacqui suggests printing out your story and highlighting the verbs then reviewing the verbs to make sure they’re as strong and precise as they can be.

18. Play with language to enchant, surprise and provoke.

19. Language is a tool; writing is a craft.

20. Verbs are the only part of our language that can stand alone and make perfect sense: Go. Home. Imagine. Pray. Dream. Sing. Ask. Speak. Swim. March.

Are you a dreamer?

What's your dream? Have you set goals to attain it? You don't have to answer these questions for me, but you should know the answers for yourself. Good luck achieving your dreams!

Amazing Spider-Man trailer

The "Amazing Spider-Man" hits theaters next summer. It deals with Spider-Man’s creation story. Marc Webb directs and Andrew Garfield (who played Eduardo Saverin in "The Social Network") plays Spider-Man, Emma Stone plays his love interest, Gwen Stacy, and Ryhs Ifans plays the villain, The Lizard. What do you think of the trailer?