Other than a marriage and parenting, I can’t think of anything else that is more difficult for two people to share than one writing project.  But when it’s done right, when everything works, the results are amazing. I have had the pleasure of collaborating with several people on stories for books and screenplays, and the primary benefit that I saw in doing that was the blend of artistic strengths that produced a better story. Not to mention the extra nod to discipline when having to report to another live person about your writing progress. My first partnership was with Margaret Sutton on the mystery Doubletake . When we decided to write a book together, all I could think of was “The Odd Couple.” Not that either of us matched the personality types of Felix and Oscar, but we certainly were as opposite as opposite could get. How could a humor columnist who was known as the Erma Bombeck of Plano, Texas and an entrepreneur whose writing credentials included invoices, business lett...

Edward Unspooled Craig Lancaster File Size: 3117 KB Print Length: 286 pages Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited Publisher: Missouri Breaks Press (July 23, 2016) Publication Date: July 23, 2016 Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC Language: English ASIN: B01I2D7HU2 BOOK BLURB:  Change keeps stalking Edward Stanton. He and his new wife, Sheila, have retreated to his small house in Montana after an unsuccessful attempt at operating a motel in Colorado. That failure has left wounds, especially for Sheila, and now they face a bigger challenge: pregnancy and impending parenthood. Edward begins penning notes to the child (ever precise, he refers to the gestating being as “Cellular Stanton”) as he navigates married life with Sheila, who is unhappy and unfulfilled in Montana; a work partnership with his friend Scott Shamwell, whose own life is teetering; and the emergence of a long-buried family secret and the effect of this revelation on his relationship with his overbeari...

This top post of 2016 was first published on May 24th. Photo by Cara Lopez Lee I’ve heard some fiction authors talk about characters as if the writer is the boss and the characters are employees who do what the boss tells them to do. I’ve heard other authors talk about characters as if the inmates are running the asylum: the writer enters the schizophrenic place in his or her mind where imaginary people appear, and those people say and do things that feel outside the writer’s control. Just who’s in charge here? In the instance of characters as employees, sometimes the author has a plan and then changes his or her mind, and the characters follow the new plan. In the instance of characters as instigators, sometimes the author has a plan and then the characters change their minds, because they know that nobody with their characteristics would ever engage in such shenanigans. We sometimes say such characters have minds of their own, but since they live in our minds, aren’t...

Scene from Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life (1946), starring James Stewart & Lionel Barrymore I’ve been writing half of my new novel from the antagonist’s point of view, and two uncomfortable but important thoughts crouch in the back of my mind as I write his part of the story: 1) He doesn’t know he’s the bad guy. 2) I don’t always know when I’m the bad guy. In real life, nobody knows when they’re Mr. Potter, because everybody wants to believe they’re George Bailey . (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, please find the classic Frank Capra film It’s a Wonderful Life and watch it.) My antagonist knows he makes mistakes, but he believes that’s because he’s only human. In many ways that’s true, although this guy does such bad stuff that massive rationalizations are required for him to chalk it all up to being “only human.” Rationalizing our behavior is what we all do when we make choices we’re sure will benefit us but either aren’t sure, or hav...

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Memories can add poignancy, reveal clues, and give insight into character behavior.  A character may have a flash of memory every now and again.The key is to keep them short and simple, a sentence or two, perhaps a paragraph, and make them relevant. It helps to trigger memories with something the character sees, smells, touches, or tastes. It can be a person, place, or thing. Songs stick with us and can bring up a feeling or a forgotten person. Smells can take you back to a place and time and the person it reminds you of. Every time Dick sees the ocean on television, he may smell saltwater. Every time Jane smells fresh baked cookies, it may remind her of the grandmother she adored. Every time Sally hears a train, it may remind her of her sad childhood. The neural connection is hard-wired. The response is involuntary. Use memories as a visceral beat. Dick frowned at the impossibly blue sky, perfect sand, and white-edged waves on the travel post...

Afraid of success? We can fix that. Are you tired of succeeding in this writing game? Below is my tried-and-true 12-step method of making sure you don't get stuck working as a professional writer for the rest of your life. 1. Turn off grammar and spellcheck in your writing program. Spell words however the hell you want to spell them. It's your work. Be exprimental and break boundaries. Rules are for suckers. 2. Don't write more than two drafts of any particular work. More than two and you'll lose the magic. Be raw. 3. Disregard critical comments your critique group partners and beta readers make. It's all due to jealousy anyway. 4. List all the agents you've queried on your blog, and their response times, so other writers will know not to query agents who take too long. 5. When you query an agent and the agent declines to read a full or a partial, let her know what a golden opportunity she has missed out on. When you're famous, instant karma w...

I’m on Facebook. A lot, perhaps too much on days I choose to procrastinate. I am careful who I friend, but my profile is public. Anyone can read my posts and comment on them. I keep controversy to a minimum, though I do love this planet and its inhabitants and wish I could save them both. I read through posts on my stream as I sip morning tea, opening up articles I want to read on new tabs. I connect mostly with other writers, book lovers, favorite publications, writing related FB groups, a few television shows, organizations I have an interest in, and George Takei who can always be counted on for a good laugh. Facebook is useful that way: my own personalized morning magazine. I share my blog posts, all Blood Red Pencil posts, and other blog posts I find informative. Many times these posts go without likes or shares. I have no idea if anyone has viewed them. I admit my page is where forwarding schemes and chain letters go to die. I don’t want to know about your pretend...

I’ve seen a lot of questions about using prologue and epilogue lately in forums. I’ve heard many an agent or panelist at a conference say: cut them, period! There is some truth to that. However, I’ve seen both done well. This rule is often broken to effect, particularly in Literary, Fantasy, and Thriller and Suspense genres. The prologue gives background information to the story that would give the reader insight that helps the story move along that is not found within the story itself. An author might add a prologue to help the story flow more smoothly by getting in information that would be clumsily delivered otherwise. The epilogue is the opposite. It helps tie up loose ends or possibly hint about a sequel or continuation of the series. An author could add an epilogue to entice the reader into buying the next book in a series or provide resolution by telling us how the characters end up further down the timeline. There are multiple ways to use prologue and epilogue...

I used to waste a lot of time on my first draft. I agonized over each sentence. I filled it full of stuff I would later cut or alter. Revision layers took forever to complete, especially repetitive words. My first drafts are now skeletons. I gradually add muscle and skin and dress the bones in the revision layers. I start with a conflict outline and a timeline (which I generally mess up somehow anyway and have to go back and fix). When I sit down to write a scene, I start with: Date, Time, Location, (Type of ) Conflict # _____ Dick needs to convince Jane to do something. Date, Time, Location, (Type of) Conflict # _____ Jane is caught snooping around Dick's office. For me, scenes are visual. I see the characters moving around the room or characters talking to one another. My first draft consists of dialogue and choreography with a tiny of hint of description. It looks a bit like a screenplay. Dick (insert tag) “ ....” Jane (insert tag) “...” Dick enters (describe ...

In part one , we began the hunt for elusive narrator intrustions. Here are a few more clues to help you locate them. 6) In third person limited point of view and first person, a writer often tells the reader things the point of view character couldn’t possibly know. Jane sat in the café, sipping a cooling mocha latte, lost in thought, a book open on the table. The man in the booth behind her stared and wondered why someone so good looking was so sad. Unless Jane has eyes in the back of her head, she isn’t aware that she is being watched. Unless she reads minds, she won’t know what the man behind her is thinking. The verbal camera panned away from Jane and followed the man in the booth. This is either head-hopping or author intrusion, depending on the point of view. Another example would be: Sally perched on the edge of a park bench. She closed her eyes, wiping the sweat from her brow. When did it get so hot? A man sat down on the grass, not close enough to be obvious, but ...