At its root, perfectionism isn’t really about a deep love of being meticulous. It’s about fear. Fear of making a mistake. Fear of disappointing others. Fear of failure. Fear of success. ~ Michael Law How true and eye-opening that quote is. I am a meticulous...
To climb steep hills requires a slow pace at first ~ William Shakespeare When I read this quote this morning in one of my daily meditation books, I thought it to be quite appropriate as it applied perfectly to the slow, but steady strides I take in writing. I...
I have never felt comfortable speaking in public. I still don’t. Whether it was back in school when a teacher called on me to answer a question or at work when asked to give a presentation. Public speaking created such anxiety in me that I wanted to crawl into a hole...
It should come as no surprise to those who know me that I love to write. So, when I was asked recently why I love to write, I simply answered, “I love telling stories.” But as soon those words left my lips, I realized why I love telling stories. I learned the art from...
If you’ve read my novels, you will have noticed I like to incorporate murder into all of them. Indeed, killing a character—whether a protagonist or an antagonist—is a form of psychotherapy for me. It is subconsciously cathartic. In fact, each “killing” probably equals...
Choosing what I like better—creating characters for my novels or developing the actual storyline—is akin to a asking a mother to pick her favorite child. No doubt, she would likely say it depends on the day and her mood. Clearly, gripping characters drive a novel’s...