Plotting Without Pants…

Newsletter 023 – September 23, 2022 Hi, About the image: (Above the Desk) I’m wearing a t-shirt, my usual uniform for about ten months of the year (a minimal spring followed by an exceptionally long summer). All the other two months hold is an almost non-existent winter (during which I switch to a long-sleeved t-shirt). …

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Getting Unstuck from the Dreaded Writer’s Block

Picture of Michael at a NaNoWriMo event

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 …

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Using What Ifs to Generate Story Ideas

Picture of Michael at a NaNoWriMo event

[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 …

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WLT’s 2013 Summer Writing Retreat

Picture of Michael at a NaNoWriMo event

[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 …

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