“Was” and the Variation of Sentence Structure (Past Progressive vs. Passive Voice)
Recently, I began mentoring a friend who wants to write a book. Since I am also planning a writing workshop for the kids at C5LA, who I will be visiting this July at Camp Paintrock in Wyoming, I’ve decided to pull together some tips and suggestions for novice writers....
Building A Series (Using Locations as Characters)
At some point during the process of writing my first two books, I struck upon a surprisingly simple, yet potent idea: to use a famous and/or legendary location as a major character in each story. Almost by accident, I set up Bobby Ether and the Temple of Eternity to...
Drabbles
A good friend of mine and aspiring writer, Melissa Grabowski, recently wrote an interesting article about a type of writing I’d never heard of before called a ‘Drabble.’ I found it quite interesting. These mini-stories remind me of the traditional Japanese ‘Haiku’...
Editing and Discipline
Hello everyone. It’s been a while since my last post, so I thought I’d take a moment to be in touch with all my wonderful readers and give you an update. I am currently in the middle of editing book two in the Bobby Ether series, entitled Bobby Ether and the Temple of...
Camp Harmony
As people close to me know, one of my favorite pastimes is doing volunteer work, especially with kids. Over the years, I’ve been involved with a variety of programs, including YMCA summer and winter camps, basketball coaching, mentoring, and a several others. Since I...
Camp Harmony
Intro video to Camp Harmony - the best camp on Earth! Update, April 4, 2014 – I've been told by some people that the embedded video plays a commercial rather than the actual Camp Harmony video. It works fine for me, but for anyone who has...
The Alchemist
Recently someone wrote me on my site asking what I liked about The Alchemist, by Paulo Coehlo, which I list on my Inspiration page as one of the books that influenced me significantly and helped lead me to become a writer. I wrote a direct response to that person, but...
The Word Game
Years ago, I made up a word game with a writer friend of mine. The goal wasn’t to come up with obscure words, know how to spell tough ones, or even to use a big word in a sentence. The goal was simply to incorporate interesting words into a story. It started at a...
A Great Start to the New Year
First of all, I want to wish all my readers a very happy new year. Hopefully the holiday season has been good to you all, with lots of joy, family, friends, and good food. I got a nice New Year's present this morning. IndieReader has finished their review and...
Five Stars for Bobby Ether and the Academy
Foreword Clarion Reviews posted their review for my debut novel, Bobby Ether and the Academy today. To say that I am pleased with the review is an understatement. Clearly, the reviewer understood what I was trying to do by mentioning that "None of this is about magic....