Elizabeth Spann Craig's Blog, page 242

And I'm Even at *Another* Place Today...

Actually, I'm at 3 different blogs today. :)

So, let me go ahead and link to them all, here. My post is up at A Good Blog is Hard to Find, where I'm talking about stock characters today--why they're useful and putting a fresh spin on them.

I'm also on today at Mystery Lovers' Kitchen, where I give some spring cleaning tips for the kitchen (y'all know I'm currently obsessed with spring cleaning.)

In addition, I'm at This Business of Writing for a look at online platforms and why it's important t...

Platforms—Why They're Important and How to Develop One

It's important to have an online "home base"—an established place to call your own—even if you're an unpublished or aspiring writing.

To find out why you should develop an online presence, and how to do it, please pop over and visit me today at C. Patrick Schulze's The Business of Writing blog.

Tomorrow, I'm hosting my fellow Midnight Ink author and friend Alan Orloff to the blog. Please join us!

Making Do

I'm going to the Malice Domestic conference at the end of this month in Washington, D.C.

This has put me in a tizzy. Conferences and other types of public appearances do that to me. I'm on a panel, too. :)

Now, suddenly, I'm done with various deadlines (until revision deadlines come in) and I've got Malice coming up in just a few weeks.

Bookmarks!!!

I needed bookmarks. I've had postcards and business cards. But I needed bookmarks.

I've needed bookmarks for a while. I'm in a...

Spring Cleaning for Writers

For the past month, I've been dying to spring clean. But my schedule has been so busy that I haven't had time to do more than just basic maintenance around the house.

The house definitely needs it. But I also try to fit in some writing-specific spring cleaning this time of year, too. It's not hard to remember to do it—my desk is always crazy in April from having done taxes, and it reminds me to clear some space for my writing!

Are your financial and other documents encroaching on...

Editing Ourselves

I was at the grocery store (again) yesterday before taking ten kids to my son's 13th birthday paintball party. I was buying lots of chips and soft drinks.

I saw a woman in the produce section and had one of those "oh no" moments where I desperately tried to come up with her name. And this was someone I was supposed to know. Could I hide? Retreat into the dairy section? Shoot! She saw me…

Then suddenly it came to me. "Peggy!!" I said with delight. "How are you, Peggy? And...

Being Rusty

It's been a month since my daughter learned to ride a bike.

We were all really excited—now we could ride bikes as a family! Charlotte, North Carolina, has greenways that go on for miles and are nice and flat and perfect for bike riding. And, right now, with highs into the upper 70s, the weather is perfect.

My husband and son go mountain biking together on a pretty regular basis.

I was the only one who hadn't ridden in 8 years. And my daughter was bike riding like a little maniac...

On Doing What We Can

For a few months, I've seen tell-tale signs of social media burnout at some of my usual haunts—on different blogs, Twitter, maybe a little on Facebook. Mostly from bloggers.

I think those of us who are big into the blogging world really like it. We're hooked. We like reading other people's blogs, commenting on blogs, visiting our friends on Facebook or Twitter, and writing our own blog posts.

And because we enjoy it so much, we keep doing it. Or we find it really hard to cut back...

The Secret to Memorable Characters—by C. Patrick Schulze

Today I'd like to welcome writer C. Patrick Schulze to the blog. Patrick is a friend of mine through Twitter (@CPatrickSchulze) where he not only posts helpful original content, but also tweets useful links for writers.

I would like to thank our host, Elizabeth Spann Craig, for this opportunity to guest blog. She is kind and generous to offer me this opportunity.

The Secret to Memorable Characters

To listen to a podcast of this article, click HERE .

Have you ever paid attention to the ...

A Twist on the Original

A couple of days ago, we were visiting our family in Alabama. The kids had gotten very restless and were about to start wreaking havoc in their grandparents' house.

I shooed them outside and shooed myself with them because I was restless too, after having been in the car most of the day before. "Let's play hide and seek," I said.

My children looked at me doubtfully. "Are you going to hide too?" asked my daughter.

I said I would. Although I had a feeling I was going to regret it...

More Links

I'm doing a mid-week Twitter list this time, so I don't get so far behind! The last post I did for links generated so many hits that I think I'll have to make this a recurring feature.

Twitter for authors: http://bit.ly/bcC8av
Twitter for authors, part 2: http://bit.ly/b5CM3M
Are angels the next YA vampires? (Guardian): http://bit.ly/9NTCCN
Are you using too many settings? http://bit.ly/aSo51W
Creating landscapes in our books--they're more than just a stage: