Liz Flaherty's Blog, page 136

Plot Pounding

 For living in a major metropolitan area--so I'm told--I don't belong to a writer's group. I do go to the Willamette Writer's Conference every year, but I've yet to network myself into a relationship that sustains the year in-between. 

So, when Nan and Liz talk about their writer's getaways, I'm a little jealous. When they talk about pounding out their plot problems with other writers I'm downright green.

Honestly, until recently, I'd never thought about taking my plot problems elsewh...

Finding Characters

Hi, Wranglers! Well, I thought that today I'd be flying home from a family trip to visit Son and Grandboy, but things have changed and Nanny gets to spend an extra couple of weeks here, taking care of my two boys--a working vacation, to be sure, because I still have editing gigs to do and Son will be pretty tied up with work and school stuff. Poppy is headed back home to take care of our lives, but I'm hanging here to give Son some much-needed help with his busy life. A special thank you to W...

Liz's Top Ten Books that...

Good morning! My apologies--I don't have ANYthing this morning. So I thought I'd do one of those Tens things. Of course, as soon as I decided that, my mind went blank on which Ten of What to do, so I'm going to stick with a tried and true. Below are ten books that have affected me as a writer. They may not be my favorites, and don't have a thing to do with me as a reader, but they are ones that have much to do with Liz Flaherty, Writer.

1. Little Women. Because Jo March is my hero.

2. Rebecca o...

A YEAR AGO---

 Today marks my year anniversary of leaving Walgreens.

Wow. An entire year. 

I stayed unemployed for about two months. Two wonderful summer months of freedom. Two months in which nothing much got accomplished. I went to the beach a couple of times, hung out with my sister, did some yard work--not enough yard work, but some. And simply enjoyed the summer.

Unemployment funds last only so long so I took the first job offered to me in which I make about a third of what I was making before....

#WriterWednesday: Share Your First Line!

I'm one of those readers who cracks open an interesting book in the bookstore and reads the first bit. A good first line will have me immediately closing that book, putting it under my arm and reaching for another. A so-so will have me read a few pages. If a line doesn't grab me, I'm on to the next one.

First lines, I think, set the tone for the book. Create interest in a character or situation, and make the reader ask 'why'. That's a lot to ask for a ten to twenty word span, but it can be don...

...for laughin', for cryin', for livin' and for dyin'...

It's Liz again and I'm sorry, but Nan's not able to post today because she's in California with family and all got crazy and she ran out of time--anyone have that happen ever?--and she asked me to fill in. She'll be back next Tuesday, so thanks for waiting.

I took Duane to have the new-knee staples removed today. The nurse who removed them is beautiful. Blonde, straight white teeth, and a pretty smile. She's been married a year, she and her husband are buying her grandfather's farm, and she wa...

How long can you stay mad?

     
   
   
  I’m bewildered.
          This is, you understand, probably an improvement over being overwhelmed, befuddled, or whiney—all characteristics of mine you’ve been witness to.          I’m judging an RWA chapter contest. It’s not hard—the scoresheet for the contest is comprehensive and intended to be helpful to the writer. It’s not one of those that make...

Happy Independence Day! from Heatherly Bell

The Wranglers are happy to welcome author Heatherly Bell to the round corral today. 

When Liz asked if I’d like to center my post on our nation’s Independence Day, the first thought that came to mind had nothing to do with our country’s birth. Instead I chose to write about my personal independence day. Last year on my own “Fourth,” November 4, 2014 to be exact, I became an Indie published writer and quite proud of it.
That one day was preceded by at least a decade of wri...<![endif]--><!--[if gte vml 1]>

Making Productive Changes...

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#WriterWednesday: About Knowing What You Want

A few days ago, I googled for 'hot shoes'. A million and one pictures of trendy stillettos popped up...and one pair of shoes that would melt an eskimo's igloo. They were really, really hot shoes. Had I not known what I was actually looking for I could've soooo gotten lost in those search engine results.

You know that old saying, 'those who want can't all have'? No? I'd never heard it until a few years ago when I started dating my now-husband. It was a phrase his grandmother said. A lot. It wen...