Newsletter 032 – February 10, 2023 Hi, Back in December I applied for a writer’s residency at Cove Park, Scotland. Cove Park is an international artists residency center located on a 50-acre rural site about twenty miles northwest of Glasgow. I hope to be granted a four-week residency there to work on my novel, The …
This is a question I’ve often asked myself, and I would imagine most writers who have looked seriously at their craft have also wondered, “Do I have what it takes?” I’m going to hand the microphone (metaphorically) over to one of the most successful screenwriters of all time, Terry Rossio. He wrote, co-wrote, or headed …
[Originally posted on my former blog, Michael Runs the Gamut] I’ve been involved in creative fields most of my life (actor, deejay, voice work, photography, graphic design, etc.), so I understand how much work goes into the product before the public gets to see it. Rehearsing for a play is often six to eight weeks …
You’re facing the blank page, and nothing’s happening (either in your mind or with your fingers). No words are appearing on the screen (I almost said “on the page,” but my tech-geek gene stopped me). Writer’s block has arrived. Or has it? True writer’s block, I think, is more feared than experienced. Let’s pause for …
[Originally posted on my former blog, Michael Runs the Gamut] I have (over the past two years) written a few posts about the idea of using the phrase “What if” as an idea generator for developing a plot. “What if” novels are often about large historical events, like Kennedy’s assassination, the D-Day invasion, or the …
[Originally posted on my former blog, Michael Runs the Gamut] A couple of weeks ago, a question was asked at the [now defunct] Fiction Writers and Editors Group at LinkedIn. It was simply, “What are you working on?” After I had responded, along with a hundred or so other writers, it occurred to me that …
[Originally posted on my former blog, Michael Runs the Gamut] In my last post, I talked about the writer’s retreat I went to in Alpine, Texas. A couple of months ago, I was invited to another retreat, much closer this time, in Galveston. A couple of friends of mine, Dominick D’Aunno and Matt Adams, decided …
[Originally posted on my former blog, Michael Runs the Gamut] At last summer’s WLT Agents & Editors Conference, in Austin, Texas (June 21-23, 2013), I was finally ready to seriously pitch my thriller, The Jagged Man. I thought the book was ready, too. I had been working on it for several years, but I felt …
I’ve been to two writing retreats in the last six months, and they were both wonderful (and an extremely rare experience for me). I don’t know what your writing situation is like, but let me tell you a little bit about mine. I retired in 2009, after nearly forty years in the workforce (thirty of …
[Originally posted on my former blog, Michael Runs the Gamut] Much has been written about how to do an opening scene in a novel. Just Google the phrase —“opening lines” books — and you’ll see about 1.15 million hits on the subject (some more relevant than others, of course). Many of the links will give …