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). …
Newsletter 019 – July 22nd, 2022 Hi, About the image above: This was taken on Galveston Island on January 4, 2014. I was there for a writing retreat. I’ve been to several different types of writing retreats since then (I’ll tell you about a couple of the others in the next two newsletters), but this …
I often record interviews with people when I’m researching a book, and I’ve noticed that very few people speak without using “fillers” in their sentences. (things like “um,” “uh,” “like,” “you know,” and repeated words). They often appear in speech as a way for speakers to slow their speech long enough to come up with …
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] For the past several years I’ve submitted queries (although not nearly often enough), and pitched my novels at conferences, with no success. Okay, I lied at least a couple of times in that first sentence. In 2002, I participated in NaNoWriMo for the first time, …
[Originally posted on my former blog, Michael Runs the Gamut] It’s almost time for the annual Writers’ League of Texas Agents & Editors Conference in Austin (June 27 through the 29th this year). I’ve signed up have a 10-minute consultation with three of the agents who will be attending. All Spring, as new editors and …
[Originally posted on my former blog, Michael Runs the Gamut] This isn’t strictly about writing, but it’s something I incur often enough doing research that it’s been on my mind lately. One of the most common connections I have noticed while waiting on hold (on the phone) is that the vast majority of music used …