Wondering how to build in effective character conflict? How does one create the kind of inner turmoil that drives a character to outrageous page-turning decisions and mistakes? Try drawing a line in the sand. I love that scene from the Fellowship Of The Ring where Gandalf screams at the Balrog:…
Writers Behaving Badly on Facebook
Did you know there are rules of etiquette on Facebook? Facebook is my happy place, and I like to try and make Facebook a positive environment when possible. So, when an online acquaintance posted a link to her own blog on my timeline (personal wall) I left her a short…
The Tricky Art of Pacing
I’ve got a great guest post today from Becca Puglisi, the co-creator of The Bookshelf Muse and The Emotion Thesaurus. Before I hand over control, I always ask two probing questions: LHW: What are you reading right now? BP: Right now, I’m reading Lovely, Dark, and Deep, by Amy McNamara….
How To Write For Newspapers
How many books does it take to make a NYTimes bestseller? Some float the number (there are a tonne of variables) that you need 100,000 books sold to make it on that list. That’s a lot of books. Reader’s Digest had a monthly circulation of over 500,000 in Canada and…
Where I Come From
I am from family dinners of meat and boiled potatoes at the table each night, from Coca-Cola and road-trips for ice cream and chip truck fish and chips (french fries), salt & vinegar potato chips that leave your mouth numb, soccer games with the boys, and always had two or…
You Want To Be A Writer? Write!
People often ask me how did I get to where I am now with my writing. Did I go to school? “I want to do what you do, but I don’t have your talent.” The prevailing idea seems to be you’ve either got talent or you don’t, those are the…