Thanksgiving! And words to the wise

cj Sez: Since we won’t be together for the Thanksgiving Day holiday . . .

  In the Did You Know Department: 

  In 1621, the Plymouth colonists from  England and the Native American Wampanoag people shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies.

  For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states. 

  It wasn’t until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November.

  “As an annual celebration of the harvest and its bounty, Thanksgiving falls under a category of festivals that spans cultures, continents, and millennia. In ancient times, the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans 

feasted and paid tribute to their gods after the fall harvest. Thanksgiving also bears a resemblance to the ancient Jewish harvest festival of Sukkot. 

  Finally, historians have noted that Native Americans had a rich tradition of commemorating the fall harvest with feasting and merrymaking long before Europeans set foot on America's shores.”

(Excerpted from: https://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/history-of-thanksgiving )

§§

  Doubters, this post from Wrangling the Doubt Monster: Fighting Fears, Finding Inspiration (Bancroft Press, 2025) by Amy L. Bernstein offers hope on how to deal with those negative thoughts.

“What do we have here?

  A doubter’s manifesto. An article of affirmation. An artist who says: I see you.

  The hope is you see yourself, realize you are not alone, learn that doubt is not your assassin.”

Click the following link to read the post: 

https://janefriedman.com/doubt-the-near-constant-companion-of-writers-and-artists/

§§

  Okay, that’s it for today. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same. Raising prayers for a happy and safe you and yours.

cj

  Tis the season for holiday shopping but forget Amazon. The best gifts are closer than you think (think your local indie bookstores), and books are gifts that don’t need charging and keep on giving. To order a book by any author and support an indie bookstore, contact The Haunted Bookshop here: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us

  Blatant Self Promotion: Here are a few books to put on your shopping list. The stories in these Christmas anthologies may have a holiday theme, but each one is a year-round enjoyable read.

Christmas Through a Child’s Eyes

  You’ll find 70 stories written by adults recounting their extraordinary childhood Christmas memories.

  My story, written under my maiden name of Marilyn Olsein, is titled “Dancing with Daddy,” and relates how six-year-old me reconnected with my Swedish father after a thousand-mile, years-long separation.

  The anthology is available on Kindle.

Amazon.com : Christmas Through a Child's eyes

Finally Home

  This anthology gifts you with eight Christmas stories, all about our four-legged friends and the special people who rescue them. From funny, to sad, to romantic, there’s something here to tug at everyone’s heart strings.

  In “Puppy Love,” I write a tale about a woman who is passionate about giving abandoned kittens a second chance at happiness. My character’s carefully curated life is disrupted when she becomes a foster hu-mom to a puppy with an amputated leg. Then she is surprised by an even harder challenge when the man who broke her heart asks for a second chance, too.

Finally Home Buy Now

  My fast-paced novels, The Dawgstar and Death on the Yampa, are available on Amazon or through your favorite e-Tailer and bookstore.

  Nota bene: Angela Trigg, the RITA Award-winning author and owner of The Haunted Book Shop has a few signed copies of my paperback books in stock. TO ORDER, contact: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us 

  P.S.: Pop on over to my Amazon Central Author Page for links to anthologies in which I have a short story.

➜ Follow me on        

➜ Amazon:    Amazon Central Author Page

➜ Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/CjPettersonAuthor

➜ BookBub:   https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cj-petterson

➜ Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3fcN3h6

 

They are all one and the same

cj Sez: Veterans Day, Armistice Day, Remembrance Day, Poppy Day: They are different names for the same day, depending on in what country it's observed (and how old you are, I guess). On Monday, November 11, the U.S. respectfully commemorates Veterans Day, a day set aside to honor all the war veterans whose heroism made and keep this country free. Amen, and thank you!

   “When first celebrated as Armistice Day, the day marked the end of World War I, formally recognized on the ‘11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month’ in 1918. The U.S. continues to honor the original connection to WWI, and Veterans Day is on the same day every year—November 11—regardless of which day of the week it falls.”  (Source: https://www.military.com/veterans-day )
 
  Excerpted from an American Legion page: “Poppy seeds can lay fallow for years, yet bloom brilliantly when the soil is disturbed or when the soil is freshly dug. After the battles were fought in World War I, the blood red poppy flourished in France and Belgium when battlefields became burial grounds. 

  The red flowers suddenly bloomed among the newly dug gravesites of fallen service members, turning the new graveyards into fields of red.

  Surviving soldiers came to see the poppy as more than a flower—–it became a symbol of their sacrifice; a tribute to the price of freedom.”
 
  Canada honors its veterans also on November 11 by celebrating their heroism with “Remembrance Day” and wearing red poppies.
 
  In England, many people wear paper or ceramic red poppies also as they commemorate Sunday, November 10, as Remembrance Day.

§§

 
  For all you word warriors: NaNoWri deadline is still more than two weeks away. You have time to reach your NaNoWriMo goal of 50,000 words on or before November 30 . . . Keep up the good work…you got this!

§§

  November 30? Now that I think about it, since I get paid monthly, that means I have only one more payday before Christmas. Aarrgh

§§

 
  Okay, that’s it for today. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same. Raising prayers for a happy and safe you and yours.

cj

  Now some words from my sponsors:
 
  Books make perfect gifts, and it’s not too early to do some holiday shopping. Blatant Self Promotion: Here are a few books to put on your shopping list:
 
Christmas Through a Child’s Eyes

  This anthology has 70 stories written by adults recounting their extraordinary childhood Christmas memories.
 
  My story, written under my maiden name of Marilyn Olsein, is titled “Dancing with Daddy,” and relates how six-year-old me reconnected with my Swedish father after a thousand-mile, years-long separation.
 
The anthology is available on Kindle. Amazon.com : Christmas Through a Child's eyes
 
Finally Home

  This anthology gifts you with eight Christmas stories, all about our four-legged friends and the special people who rescue them. From funny, to sad, to romantic, there’s something here to tug at everyone’s heart strings.
 
  My story, “Puppy Love,” tells a tale about a woman who is passionate about giving abandoned kittens a second chance at happiness. My character’s carefully curated life is disrupted when she becomes a foster hu-mom to a puppy with an amputated leg. Then she is surprised by an even harder challenge when the man who broke her heart asks for a second chance, too.

The anthology is availaable here: Amazon.com: Finally Home (Christmas Romance Anthology)

  The stories in those Christmas anthologies may have a holiday theme, but each of them is a year-round enjoyable read.

  My novels, The Dawgstar and Death on the Yampa, are available on Amazon or through your favorite e-Tailer and bookstore.
 
  If you’re looking for free versions of these fast-paced reads, break out your library card. You can read the ebooks free from Hoopla.

  Nota bene: Angela Trigg, the RITA Award-winning author and owner of The Haunted Book Shop has a few signed copies of my paperback books in stock. TO ORDER, contact: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us 
 
  P.S.: Pop on over to my Amazon Central Author Page for links to anthologies in which I have a short story.
 
➜ Follow me on        
➜ Amazon:    Amazon Central Author Page
➜ Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/CjPettersonAuthor
➜ BookBub:   https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cj-petterson
➜ Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3fcN3h6 

As 2023 winds down . . .

cj Sez:  In the midst of the angst of world-wide wars and civil disruptions, it is with great joy that I celebrate the birth of Christ—a figure of love and hope.

 

Merry Christmas

and

HAPPY NEW YEAR

 

I pray your holiday celebrations at this sacred time of year

are filled to the brim with God’s peace and joy

and the love of family and friends. May love,

health, peace, and happiness

follow you through all

the days of 2024.

 

The Lord bless you and keep you;

The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,

And give you peace.

                                                                                                           Numbers 6:24-26

 §§

   Lyrical Pens is taking the rest of the year off, but please know, I am profoundly grateful for each friend/fan/reader who visited this page during 2023 (and before). 

 

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

   I hope to see all y’all in 2024. Please join Lyrical Pens on January 7, 2024, for part 2 of “Contronyms” and etc.

cj

(PS:  If you’re still wondering what to give someone, give them an adventure…give them a book! Books are non-fattening, easy to wrap, and lasts all year long and then some.)

Here are two great anthologies for your shopping list:

Christmas Through a Child’s Eyes

  This anthology has 70 stories written by adults recounting their extraordinary childhood Christmas memories. My story, written under my maiden name of Marilyn Olsein, is titled “Dancing with Daddy,” and relates how six-year-old me reconnected with my Swedish father after a major upheaval in our lives.  

  The anthology is free on Kindle Unlimited    Buy Now   

  FINALLY HOME brings you eight Christmas stories all about our four-legged friends and the special people who rescue them. From funny, to sad, to romantic, there’s something here to tug at everyone’s heart strings. 

  My short story, Puppy Love, is included.

Buy Button::  

 

Price Increase Alert: My novels, THE DAWGSTAR and DEATH ON THE YAMPA will be going up in price on Jan 1, 2024. Right now, they are priced at only $2.99.

  The novels are fast-paced, thriller/suspense stories with sassy banter and a smidgen of romance. They are available on Amazon or through your favorite eTailer and bookstore. Got a library card? You can read the ebooks free from Hoopla. The Haunted Book Shop has a few signed copies of my paperback books in stock and will ship. TO ORDER, contact: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us 

➜ Follow me on . . .  

➜ Amazon:    Amazon Central Author Page

➜ Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/CjPettersonAuthor

➜ BookBub:   https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cj-petterson

➜ Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3fcN3h6

 

Author brands sell books

cj Sez: If you saw a new book and the author was Stephen King, you’d expect to read a work of horror/psychological fiction from this prolific storyteller. How about if the author was Dame Agatha Christie? You’d expect something 180 degrees from King’s genre: cozy crime mysteries.

  What you’ve just done is recognized these two authors’ unique brands.

  If I said, “Murder on the Orient Express,” you’d automatically think cozy mystery written by Agatha Christie.  If I said, “She’s been nominated for the Agatha Award,” you’d know I meant Agatha Christie and you’d know what kind of story is being considered for the award.

  Stephen King + Misery (Or Cujo or Carrie or The Shining, et al.) = Stephen King Brand: horror/psychological fiction.

  When readers recognize your name, they’ve recognized your brand.

  Building your author brand needs to be one of the first things you do, even if you are yet to be published. Start with a Facebook page. It’s free. 

  Set up a blog site, and make sure the theme, style and author voice of the two are consistent. Use similar colors and fonts in signage, swag, banners for book signings, and business cards. You want your readers to identify you and your name by your ideas and concepts.

  Now you can develop a brand summary by defining who “you” are or what your books are about.

  Although I write in multiple genres, my “writer’s voice” and pacing are pretty much the same. 

  To reinforce my author image, I wear my squash blossom necklace to every writerly event I attend (some social events as well). 

§§

  Tomorrow’s full moon (Monday, Nov. 27 at 4:16 a.m. EST) is known as the Beaver Moon. According to The Old Farmer's Almanac, which lists monthly full moon names from Native American, Colonial American and European folklore, the Beaver Moon's name refers to the time of the year in which beavers take shelter in their lodges to prepare for winter, and also the time in which beaver fur traps would be historically set up in North America.

§§

Writer Tips (cj sez: Good stuff.)

  Benjamin Franklin once wrote to the Royal Society of London: “I have already made this paper too long, for which I must crave pardon, not having now time to make it shorter.”  Jane Friedman’s guest post by author Amy L. Bernstein is a keeper. 

 https://janefriedman.com/writing-short-book-description/

§§

  Author/editor/professor Brenda Copeland has a guest post on Career Authors site identifying POV and goes into wonderful examples of close third person POV. Extremely illustrative. I’m keeping a copy of this teaching moment for future reference. 

https://careerauthors.com/third-person-close-pov/

§§

  Okay, that’s it for today. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same. Raising prayers for a happy and safe you and yours.

cj

Now some words from my sponsors:

  Books are always great suggestions for gifts. They don't need water, they're not fattening; and they're easy to wrap. And Christmas is THE gift-giving holiday of the year. 

  I have stories in several anthologies with Christmas as the theme. Here are two to put on your shopping list:

FINALLY HOME brings you eight Christmas stories all about our four-legged friends and the special people who rescue them. From funny, to sad, to romantic, there’s something here to tug at everyone’s heart strings. My short story, "Puppy Love," is included.

     Buy Button::  

Christmas Through a Child’s Eyes

  This anthology has 70 stories written by adults recounting their extraordinary childhood Christmas memories. 

  My story, written under my maiden name of Marilyn Olsein, is titled “Dancing with Daddy,” and relates how six-year-old me reconnected with my Swedish father after a major upheaval in our lives.

  The anthology is free on Kindle.  Buy Now   

  My novels THE DAWGSTAR and DEATH ON THE YAMPA are fast-paced, thriller/suspense stories with sassy banter and a smidgen of romance. The books are available on Amazon or through your favorite eTailer and bookstore. Got a library card? You can read the ebooks free from Hoopla.

  Little note: Angela Trigg, the RITA Award-winning author and owner of The Haunted Book Shop has a few signed copies of my books in stock. TO ORDER, contact: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us  If she happens to be sold out, shoot me an email. I have a small stash (with a discounted price plus shipping).

➜ Follow me on . . .  

➜ Amazon:    Amazon Central Author Page

➜ Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/CjPettersonAuthor

➜ BookBub:   https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cj-petterson

➜ Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3fcN3h6

 

Avoid Clichés Like the Plague? Or are they useful?

cj Sez:  I was reviewing some notes I have and the following paragraphs jumped out at me for today’s blog. I think we can agree that novels need a theme, a premise on which to hang the action and plot points. An overall theme continues as a thread through the novel. It lets a writer connect the dots of subplots to the main plot.

  Caveat:  A cliché is, by definition, a trite and overused expression, a figure of speech that has become tiresome.

  One way to get a handle on finding your theme/premise might be to describe your novel in one sentence, as with a cliché.

  The neat thing is, once you’ve discovered that one true sentence for your novel, you can polish it into a marketing blurb.

   Consider this theme/premise/cliché for a romance story: “Love will find a way.” Then every time you put an obstacle in a character’s path on the way to happily ever after, that obstacle can be overcome with some kind of act of love . . . even self-love (conceit, egotism) is fair game. 

   In the premise/cliché, “All’s fair in love and war,” the character is free to do whatever s/he can in order to capture the heart of a lover. 

   For a love story, that beautiful, angst-filled drama which doesn’t always end happily ever after, a perfect cliché might be, “Always a bridesmaid, never a bride.” 

   Or this tired, old saw for a YA or memoir: “A coming of age story.” That keeps the threads of the story tied to some agonizing affliction and growth of young people over a longer time span.

 

   Find your cliché and tape it to your desk. It’ll keep you focused on the theme of your story, despite all those wonderful obstacles you throw in the path of the protagonist.

  NOTE: Several writer coaches/experts advise against the use of any clichés in the story’s narrative. That said, I think there are ways to use them—for example, you might have one particular character who loves to rattle off clichés.

§§

Writerly info:

  On Jane Friedman’s blog: “One Well-Chosen Detail: Write Juicy Descriptions Without Overwhelming Your Reader,” by author and writing coach April Dávila. 

https://janefriedman.com/one-well-chosen-detail-write-juicy-descriptions-without-overwhelming-your-reader/

§§

  Did you know that the first “general day of thanksgiving and prayer” was established by Presidential Proclamation in 1789?

And since we won’t be together on the holiday . . .

§§

  Okay, that’s it for today. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same. Raising prayers for a happy and safe you and yours.

cj

Now some words from my sponsors:

  Books are always great suggestions for gifts, and Christmas is THE gift-giving holiday of the year. I have stories in several anthologies with Christmas as the theme. Here are two to put on your shopping list:

  FINALLY HOME brings you eight Christmas stories all about our four-legged friends and the special people who rescue them.

  From funny, to sad, to romantic, there’s something here to tug at everyone’s heart strings. My short story, Puppy Love, is included. Buy Button::    

Christmas Through a Child’s Eyes

  This anthology has 70 stories written by adults recounting their extraordinary childhood Christmas memories. 

  My story, written under my maiden name of Marilyn Olsein, is titled “Dancing with Daddy,” and relates how six-year-old me reconnected with my Swedish father after a major upheaval in our lives.

The anthology is free on Kindle.  Buy Now   

  My novels THE DAWGSTAR and DEATH ON THE YAMPA are fast-paced, thriller/suspense stories with sassy banter and a smidgen of romance.

 The books are available on Amazon or through your favorite eTailer and bookstore. Got a library card? You can read the ebooks free from Hoopla.

  Little note: Angela Trigg, the RITA Award-winning author and owner of The Haunted Book Shop has a few signed copies of my books in stock. TO ORDER, contact: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us  If she happens to be sold out, shoot me an email. I have a small stash (with a discounted price plus shipping).

 
➜ Follow me on . . .  
➜ Amazon:    Amazon Central Author Page
➜ Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/CjPettersonAuthor
➜ BookBub:   https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cj-petterson
➜ Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3fcN3h6

 

Readers have different expectations

cj Sez:  My first drafts are crappy and sparse, mainly for two reasons: First, first drafts are supposed to be crappy, and second, before a screenwriter course turned me on to creative writing, I was once a corporate journalist/editor tasked with relating the gist of a story in limited line space.

  When I’m finished with the first draft, and the manuscript has its usual dearth of details, I start work expanding the details: The five senses…hear, see, taste, smell, feel…and the who, what, when, where, why, and how of the plot.

  I incorporate action descriptors, but I consider too many of them stage directions. Some writers may use them much like adverbs to “tell” their readers what to think or as a way to add words to a short manuscript.

 

  Action needs to have purpose. If describing an action doesn't contribute to the reader's knowledge of the character, scene conflict, or mood, then it’s stage direction. I write mostly suspense and thrillers and have a minimalist approach to action—using few words speeds up the pace and heightens the tension. On the other hand, readers of cozy mysteries or more narrative-based novels want, and expect, to know every detail.

  It’s a good way to control the pace of your novel. Even in suspense and thrillers, there are places where the reader needs a respite from the action. These would be the spots where I add more detail or beats. Places where I can reveal more of the characters’ growth, i.e., transformation, as the plot progresses.

 

Hint: Adding detail words slows the pace; being stingy speeds it up.

  When action is needed to set some mood for the scene, then yes, I detail the action. Sometimes I add details to slow the action and increase the tension. If I want a character to give the reader a sense of impending danger and fear, then I add more description to the action. I tend to follow the lead of my favorite authors—Robert Parker, Stephen King, James Lee Burke. Their succinct style of writing is what I like to read, and it is their fans who are my target market.

 

Hint: Write what you like to read and hit your target market.

 When I write, I take my cues from screenwriting, except I’m the actor. Since internal dialogue doesn’t convert easily to the movie screen, I tend to develop most of the characters’ personalities with action. I move through the scene in my mind and react to the events as my characters would, physically and mentally. I can do that because I’ve written their bios. I know their personalities well enough to know what they would do in a given situation. I want my readers to identify the character more by what s/he does and says rather than what I might tell them, also known as “author intrusion.”

   Fiction, non-fiction, whatever the genre, each has a different set of “rules” because the readers have different expectations and wants. The key is to make what you want to write the genre you read and analyze most often. Over time, the structure of the genre will become second nature.

  If you have any questions or more info to add to this post, please leave a comment. A reader but not a writer? Readers, that means you, too. Lyrical Pens would love to hear from you.

§§

Writerly/Readerly quote:

  “All writing is difficult. The most you can hope for is a day when it goes reasonably easily. Plumbers don’t get plumber’s block, and doctors don’t get doctor’s block; why should writers be the only profession that gives a special name to the difficulty of working, and then expects sympathy for it?”  —Philip Pullman

§§

On a personal note:

  My short story "Puppy Love" in the Christmas charity anthology FINALLY HOME is being lived by my daughter-in-law.

  Yesterday, she introduced me to her puppy Ziva, a German Shepherd mix, that had to have one of her front legs amputated two weeks ago (birth defect). Ziva is running and happy and excited and beautiful and loving, and D-I-L (who is a Special Olympics volunteer) hopes her baby can be trained as a therapy dog.

  I sent along copies of my story for D-I-L to read and think you would enjoy all
the stories in the anthology as well. The FINALLY HOME anthology stories have a universal appeal, going far beyond the Christmas theme. 

  FINALLY HOME has eight stories, all about our four-legged friends and the special people who rescue them. From funny to sad to romantic, there’s something to tug at everyone’s heart strings. The publisher donates a portion of the profits to various animal rescue organizations, and the anthology is free on Kindle Unlimited. https://amzn.to/2Y9VPpe

And now a few words from my sponsor: 

THE DAWGSTAR is available as an eBook  https://books2read.com/u/3LRRG5and as a paperback  Amazon Buy Now

DEATH ON THE YAMPA is available as an eBook https://books2read.com/u/bxe1AP

as a paperback  Buy Paperback Yampa

and as a #SCREAM, series phone app. 

  There are a lot of authors and their mystery/suspense stories available on #SCREAM. All you do is load up the app and search for the author’s name.

§§

  You can ask your local library to order my eBooks for you. You’ll need to give them the ISBN number of the title you want to borrow.

THE DAWGSTAR … ISBN 978-17369146-0-1

DEATH ON THE YAMPA … ISBN 978-1-7369146-1-8

§§

  That’s it for today’s post. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.

cj

P.S. TO ORDER any book of your choice on-line and support an indie bookstore, contact The Haunted Bookshop here: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us

  If you’d like me to autograph or personalize one of my books for you, be sure to tell them, and I’ll run by the shop.

  The Haunted Bookshop has re-opened to limited hours (and they have an awesome bookstore kitty, Mr. Bingley), so if you’re in the Mobile area, you can stop and shop, too.

➜ Follow me . . .     

➜ on Amazon:    Amazon Central Author Page

➜ on Facebook:  cjpettersonAuthor on Facebook

➜ on BookBub:   https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cj-petterson

➜ on Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3fcN3h6

My friend Fen and his friend, Elmore Leonard

cj Sez: When I worked in Chrysler’s Employee Communications Department, I met an ad man who was an honest-to-gosh World War II American hero (served with General George S. Patton in France and Germany). Fen became a dear, dear friend, and we stayed in close touch until his death at age 97 this past January. It was Fenton Ludtke who introduced me to Elmore Leonard’s writing discipline.

(Out of Print)

   Fen had worked with Elmore Leonard at an ad agency for a time and had great admiration for his writing and his discipline, as I came to appreciate also. But I appreciated Fen most of all: a gentle man with great wit, sensitivity, and quiet earnestness who unflaggingly supported and encouraged my feeble first attempts at writing a novel.

   Back to Elmore Leonard: I wish I could have begged, borrowed, or stolen some of the man’s discipline for writing. What started as necessity for him (his job required it) turned into habit when he became an established writer.

“To support his family, he worked as a copywriter at an ad agency, where he developed his aversion to adverbs, and also his knack for brief, punched-up prose. He began a habit of waking at five a.m. and immediately starting to write -- not even putting the water on for coffee until he had something down on paper -- then going to work at the office, first in advertising and later writing educational films for the Encyclopedia Britannica.”

(Source: http://www.biographile.com/a-capital-crime-elmore-leonard-deserves-a-definitive-biography/22523/ ) 

   It used to be that I worked better when I had a short-term deadline, as was always the case in my job in Employee Communications. After I retired and began to write novels and short stories, I thought if I gave myself a deadline to meet, I’d knock out stories in no time flat.

  Found out that’s not true. I manage to bury any self-imposed deadline under weeks of procrastination that I call “research.” (Elmore Leonard paid others to do his research.) It seems that the more I research, the less creativity I have. I get lost among the fascinating facts in those research rabbit holes, and my story suffers. I am learning a lot of stuff, though.

 

   Unlike Mr. Leonard, I’m not usually such an early morning riser after I retired. Six-thirty is about all I can manage and still stay awake the whole day. However, occasionally, as was the case a couple of mornings ago, at four a.m., I will make a note about one of the WIPs I have in my computer and promptly crawl back into bed. I sometimes get good ideas just before I fall asleep or when I’m dreaming. That’s why I keep a pad of paper and a pencil on the table next to the bed. Some ideas I use, others don’t turn out to be the good idea I thought they were.

   I’m not a believer in writer’s block. When I get stuck, I think I just need to take a break from my WiP, and I will read some other author’s fine work. It doesn’t make a difference the genre. It might even be a book of poetry. 

   I find that an escape into someone else’s work almost always provides the nudge I need to send one of my characters up another proverbial tree so I can throw rocks at her in the middle of the manuscript.

   How about you? When do you get your best ideas? How do you conquer the blank page in front of you?

§§

Writerly/Readerly quote:

“My alma mater was books, a good library…. I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity.” - Malcolm X

§§

And now a few words from my sponsor:

   Someone said, it’s never too soon to start your Christmas shopping. (I think it was one of my kids.) 

   These anthologies make wonderful gifts, filled with timeless stories that are wonderful reads all year long. Bonus points: Part of the proceeds of three of them benefits charities.

   THE DAWGSTAR is available as an eBook from the etailers listed here... https://books2read.com/u/3LRRG5

and as a paperback  Amazon Buy Now

   DEATH ON THE YAMPA is available as an eBook from multiple etailers...  https://books2read.com/u/bxe1AP

as a paperback  Buy Paperback Yampa

and as a #SCREAM, series phone app. There are a lot of authors and their mystery/suspense stories available on #SCREAM. All you do is load up the app and search for the author’s name.

§§

   Draft2Digital tells me that you can ask your local library to order my eBooks for you. You’ll need to give them the ISBN number of the title you want to borrow. I’ve listed mine below.

THE DAWGSTAR … ISBN 978-17369146-0-1

DEATH ON THE YAMPA … ISBN 978-1-7369146-1-8

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   That’s it for today’s post. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.

cj

 

P.S. TO ORDER any book of your choice on-line and support an indie bookstore, contact The Haunted Bookshop here: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us

   If you’d like me to autograph or personalize one of my books for you, be sure to tell them, and I’ll run by the shop.

   The Haunted Bookshop has re-opened to limited hours (and they have an awesome bookstore kitty, Mr. Bingley), so if you’re in the Mobile area, you can stop and shop, too.

 

➜ Follow me . . .     

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➜ on Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3fcN3h6