Writing

Getting Inside Your Character’s Heads

Any of you who have read my work know I love writing in the first person singular. Why? Because I can get deeply inside a character and gaze out through her eyes. I can say "her," because so far all of my first-person works have had female main characters. I really...

Thinking About Schools

Schools have been on my mind lately. Part nostalgia, part not. I clearly remember the first school I attended. I think it was kindergarten through third grade. London Avenue School had beautiful Spanish mission lines with terra cotta tile roofs. No, I don't remember...

Bright, Shiny Objects

I was going to call this post, "Bright Shiny Balls," but I thought some people might take offense. Or not, as the case may be. We live in an Attention Economy, where we are too easily distracted by bright, shiny objects. Try watching commercial television, where a man...

Swim Lanes, or How To Keep Order in Your Writing

Nearly anyone who has worked as a consultant knows that projects are broken down into sections, with those sections broken down into smaller parts. In order to manage large projects, project managers draw up charts with sections listed along the left side and major...