To generate blog post ideas, I asked readers what topics they’d like me to address. One question raised was: What is your process for creating your characters? How do they then become real to you? Something must happen, because they seem alive to your readers.” Honestly, creating characters doesn't come easily to me, but it's something I've learned to do better. In fact, it's one of the … [Read more...]

Last time I blogged, I told you the story of the farmhouse dining table that became my writing desk and is now at home in my oldest grandson’s bedroom. Today, as promised, I want to tell you the story of my “new” (but actually very old) writing desk.  The first history we know of this desk is when it was owned by Maude Berquist, wife of Arthur Berquist, who owned and operated Berquist … [Read more...]

Hi, friends. Remember me? Last year, when I took a step back from writing bi-weekly blog posts for Inspired by Life and Fiction, I never dreamed I would let so much time pass before I took advantage of my “Bonus Days” status. Because 2019 was a rough year for me personally, I was looking forward to turning the calendar to a new year and a fresh leaf. My word for 2020 is “Revelation” and … [Read more...]

I schedule my writing year so that my deadline always lands on June 1st. This makes April and May crazy for me, but there's a method to my madness. Namely, a June 1 deadline puts me in sync with my kids' summer vacation. I'm able to enjoy time off from writing during the entire month of June (glorious!) followed by a very relaxed, part-time writing schedule in July. This June, we'd planned … [Read more...]