Since 2019 I have been writing blog posts for Paper Lantern Writers. Here is a collection of posts I’ve written about writing.
Fictionalizing Family 1/27/23 Old family stories can be rich fodder for a historical fiction author. But how do you develop your mother’s childhood memories, your uncle’s military service, or the penciled names on the back of a photo into a work of fiction? Read more…
Writing Short Stories…for a Change 10/18/22 I am a novel writer. I like taking thousands of words to develop a scene or foreshadow the plot. My books are thirty or so chapters. That’s why when Paper Lantern Writers came up with the idea for Unlocked, I initially hesitated. Read more…
Secondary Themes 5/10/22 I write novels based on stories my grandmother told me of our female ancestors. Family is a strong theme in my books. In order to appeal to a wide range of people, however, novels need to have multiple themes that are possibly secondary to the overall idea. For example, family novels often also deal with coming of age or a crisis such as death or divorce. Read on to see if you can discover the secondary theme in my books. Read more…
Q & A – What Do You Owe the Real People Included in Your Book? 10/15/21 What do we owe the historical figures in fictional stories? This was a burning question that I wanted answered when I began writing. I was advised that for people long gone there was no legal consequence for misrepresentations. There is also the question of how accurate is the history anyway? Was the story whitewashed? Embellished? Or was that person remembered more harshly than the truth would bear out? With history shrouded in half-truths, myths, and outright lies, and often a dearth of information, it may be impossible to paint an accurate picture. So what is our responsibility as writers? I asked our lanterns for their thoughts on the matter and got a wide range of responses. Read more…
Judging a Book by its Cover 5/4/21 I agree that you shouldn’t judge a book solely by its cover, but please don’t ignore the cover either. The cover is the all-important first impression. Everything on that cover, front and back, is purposefully designed to entice you to buy and read the book. The cover is only part of the book, but it’s an important part. Read more…
Uncovering History 2/9/21 In my experience, researching the family genealogy is a constant state of uncovering hidden history. My grandfather, for example, was born in Glasgow so I was raised to believe I was Scottish. Through research, I learned that Grandpa’s father was a pastor at MacLeod Parish in Glasgow, assigned there by the Presbyterian Church in England. He and his wife were both born in England, as were all of their parents. How many generations of a family need to be born in a country before you can claim it as heritage? Read more…