FIRST A FREEBIE ANNOUNCEMENT - Click this Amazon link from 12/31/13 through 1/3/14, for a freebie copy of my romantic suspense mystery, Killer Career, for downloading to kindle/pc/e-reader  http://www.amazon.com/Killer-Career-ebook/dp/B002PDOPPG AND NOW BACK TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED POST -  This is a repeat of my original post here on November 10, 2008, but in my part of the country, it still applies. Maybe in yours as well. It happens often enough, but I still can't get used to it. I'm never ready when it comes. Dare I say that naughty, four letter word? SNOW@!# - Yikes, I've said it. My area of the Midwest gets hammered with that pesky stuff quite often, as evidenced by the photo to the left. Instead of looking on it as something evil, which is easy to do since it gets in my way when I want to drive or walk, I'm trying to think of it as an opportunity for better writing. Snow can be useful, that is, if it's included in a manuscript. When doing th...

This article is an updated remake of one I posted here in 2008, but one that applies at this time of year.. It happens often enough, but I still can't get used to it. I'm never ready when it comes. Dare I say that naughty, four letter word? SNOW@!#  - Yikes, I've said it. My area of the Midwest gets hammered with that pesky stuff quite often, as evidenced by the photo to the left. Instead of looking on it as something evil, which is easy to do since it gets in my way when I want to drive or walk, I'm trying to think of it as an opportunity for better writing. Snow can be useful, that is, if it's included in a manuscript. When doing this, it's best not to dwell on the obvious. Almost anyone can describe snow as pretty, white, or cold. The trick is to use snow as a vehicle of moving the plot forward. Common Occurrence: During the winter my newspaper often gets buried in the snow and doesn't get discovered until later when the stoop is shoveled. Opport...