The Writing Life
How to Make a Writer’s (or Anyone Else’s) Day
Years ago, when I was a dance teacher, I made a point of saving the notes and cards I’d received from appreciative students. Whenever I was having a bad day, I’d get them out and re-read them. They were a definite pick-me-up! I loved feeling that I’d made a difference in my students’ lives. I’ve…
Read MoreFun Quotes About Writing
I’ve always believed that writing is risk-taking behavior. We reveal so much of who we are and what we care about when we write. Approaching our daily work as writers with humor somehow makes it all less scary. Over the years, I’ve collected a few of my favorite fun quotes about writing. Here are…
Read MoreFeeling Grateful
We’ve all had those days and weeks as writers when nothing seems to go well. We get a slew of back-to-back rejections, our critique group is less than thrilled with our latest submission, and our work-in-progress is, well…stalling. Only that pesty compulsion to write keeps us going. Fortunately, there are other weeks when lots of…
Read MoreChatGPT: A Scammer’s Delight
A few weeks ago, slickly written, effusive pitches from “book marketing experts” began appearing with astonishing regularity in my inbox. Here’s a sample opening of one: Hello Lynn, What struck me most in Missing Mom is how you turned your own experience of loss into a novel that doesn’t just entertain but speaks directly to the ache…
Read MoreI Don’t Really Write Much Short Fiction, But…
I always tell folks that I rarely write short fiction. For whatever reason, my ideas seem to come in novel length, like MISSING MOM, which I’m excited to share won the 2025 Readers’ Favorite Bronze Award in the YA mystery category. But last month, I was invited…
Read MoreWriting When I’m Not Writing
I holed up in my home office yesterday to work on a short story to submit to Malice Domestic’s upcoming anthology. Those of you who know me are aware that I write novels and only rarely dip my toes into short stories. Truthfully, I’m in awe of short fiction writers who can pack so much…
Read MorePriming the Pump: The Value of Writing Prompts
My fourteen-year-old creative writing student and I had our last session of the semester before summer break. She is a gifted writer already working on a novel. When I asked her what she enjoyed the most about our sessions, she said, “The writing prompts. I feel like it gets our creative juices going.” I had…
Read MoreSometimes You Just Have to Stumble Through
Last weekend, I attended Malice Domestic, a popular conference for mystery authors and fans held annually in Bethesda, Maryland. I missed going last year and was determined to make it this time, despite another spinal flareup that’s made it difficult for me to walk or stand for any length of time without a lot…
Read MoreReflections On a Career Day Visit
On Friday, I was a presenter at an area high school as part of their career day. They asked me to do two presentations, one on my experiences as a professional dancer and dance educator, and one on my current career as a novelist. Preparing for both was an experience. For one thing, a tsunami…
Read MoreMISSED CUE Is Now PISTA PERDIDA!
Entire industries have grown up around providing services for authors—publicists, book coaches, freelance editors, writing teachers and workshop leaders, promotion services, advertisers, audiobook readers, the list goes on! Sadly, some “services” turn out to be scams—like the ones promising to turn your book into a film if you’ll just pay oh…a few thousand dollars for…
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