I spent today planning on paper what I’m going to do with my blog. I have been absent from it for several weeks, so I want to remedy that by posting more often. The first thing I did was bring back an old page to the Writing Blog section in the Menu. It’s called “Ravenwood”Continue reading Bringing Back Ravenwood [writing news]
Coming Attractions [plans]
August is ending. Summer is almost over, which means it is time for me to return to my writing and art. And with that, it is time to break those long periods of silence here. Before I took large portions of the summer off to collect my wits and to catch up on the partsContinue reading Coming Attractions [plans]
Book News, April 2019
Plans continue to rewrite and retool my ebooks at Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing. I published my first book there in January 2013. Although my main character was a boy named Lenny Stevens, it introduced Vree Erickson and started the ball rolling for her to take center stage in many of the stories that followed. IContinue reading Book News, April 2019
Future Writing Plans Update
I am planning to write a new book. It will feature a LOST AND FOUND story involving time travel. Time Travel to the Past: British physicist Stephen Hawking held a party for time travelers in 2009. No guests showed up — he sent out the invites a year later. Some time travel theorists argue that the guests—perhapsContinue reading Future Writing Plans Update
Vree’s New Journey [character development]
I am preparing to write stories about Vree Erickson and her friend Lenny Stevens again. Lenny is a character I created 48 years ago, named Liam Burkhart then. Vree soon followed. The above statement makes it seem like I have written for a long time. I have not. I spent most of that time paintingContinue reading Vree’s New Journey [character development]
News From the Future [fiction]
While we eagerly anticipate traveling from New York to Paris in a matter of seconds, work continues on both travel centers. Although the Paris building is near completion, the outer walls of The New York Instant Travel Center are now in place, allowing work to continue on the interior. Crews from more than a dozenContinue reading News From the Future [fiction]
What’s Ahead For My Characters
2018 is a year of do-overs for my Ridgewood characters and their stories. Forget everything about them. Forget all of it. This is the year that began with a blank slate—a book of blank paper where anything is possible. Like many writers, there are times when I dread starting the blank paper because, well, ifContinue reading What’s Ahead For My Characters
Merging Similar Characters [character development]
Changes, Part 6 During a break from writing, I continue discussing the changes I have made to my Ridgewood characters. Sometimes it is necessary for authors to reduce the number of characters entering and exiting their story’s scenes. This is a good time to look for characters with similar personalities. If two characters have similarContinue reading Merging Similar Characters [character development]
Julie [fiction]
Changes, Part 5 Today is my birthday. I find it fitting to feature a character I created on my birthday many years ago when I was a teenager. Julianna “Julie” Michelle Douglas, 13 In the beginning, I named her Lucinda after an older sister I almost had. She was big sister to Kenny (named LennyContinue reading Julie [fiction]
Vree [fiction]
Changes, Part 4 Verawenda “Vree” Renee Erickson, 13 Upon her creation in the 1970s, Verawenda Erickson was the same age as my other teen characters. She was an only child, nicknamed Vree, and lived with her parents down the road from Dave and Amy. Years later, when I decided to write about Vree again, IContinue reading Vree [fiction]
Amy [fiction]
Changes, Part 3 Another change (and more to come) to strengthen my characters. Amy Elizabeth Conrad, 15 As a teenage male in the 1970s, the hardest part of writing was understanding my female characters. I had plenty of girl cousins to study, but I grew up in a household of six males and one female,Continue reading Amy [fiction]
Kenny [fiction]
Changes, Part 2 Lenny Stevens has a new name and personality. Kenneth “Kenny” Jeffrey Douglas, 15 He, as Lenny Stevens, is the second person I created. He buddied with Dave Evans (now, Dave Conrad) in high school until I wrote him as an adult for a short story called “Dragon Slayer.” He went through someContinue reading Kenny [fiction]
