By Sharla Rae One of the things we've discussed in our critique meetings is the tendency all writers have to repeat certain words and phrases. “Echoes” is a term I’ve heard applied to frequently repeated words. Read your chapter out loud, and that’s exactly what they sound like. Common Causes of Echoes: Helpful Echo-Zapping Sites […]

By Sharla Rae When writing, we have to describe all kinds of people/characters. I’d venture to say that older adults or seniors are one of the most difficult people groups to describe. Why? Because what you see is not always what you get. Okay, this might be true with any age group, but it’s doubly […]

By Sharla Rae No, I'm not discussing sharks. We're discussing the jawline, and writing facial descriptions and emotions. And …  I have another description list for you, too. Recently in her blog, When Writing Is A Full Body Workout, Orly confessed being caught acting out what she happened to be writing, that is, she was […]

by Sharla Rae The first thing writers learn about Point of View, or POV, is that it refers to whose head we’re in. In other words: through whose perspective will the reader experience the sounds, smells, actions and emotions of a story/scene? Seems simple, but as writers it isn’t always easy to decide which character should […]

By Sharla Rae Some writers brainstorm on their own, some do it with another writer or a group of writers. My personal favorite is 'what-ifing' with my critique group. Along the way I learned a few things. I think the biggest lesson was that if I walked away disappointed, it was probably my own fault. […]