Elizabeth Spann Craig's Blog, page 243

Problem Solving

Since our novels are all supposed to have tons of conflict in them (major, minor, and in between), our protagonists need to use their problem solving skills…usually.

In real life, I think our personalities have a lot to do with the way we approach our problems.

Some people panic, some people shut down, some avoid problems as much as possible, some people deny there is a problem, some attack problems head-on.

Some people have a methodical approach to solving problems, some have a...

Twitterific

Once again, I'm posting writing links that I previously posted to Twitter.

The idea of doing this isn't to overwhelm anyone---I'm overwhelmed looking at this list myself! But I thought that if I kept track of these writing links in a searchable database (you can search my blog on the top left of the page) then maybe we can access some of these helpful links by topic, when we need to?

Helpful writing sites: http://dld.bz/a5t2 @gracefuldoe about 1 hour ago

10 of the best breakfasts...

Dropping Clues About Our Characters

So I was in the grocery store….again….(must make more lists) and was nearly run down by a little guy pushing a shopping buggy that was bigger than he was.

"Benjamin! Watch our for the mommy!" fussed his mother before apologizing to me.

She kept on scolding, "Honey, you can't just go running through the store with the cart! You could have hurt this mommy."

I was—quickly—walking away by this point, but I was struck by the fact that the woman had pegged me, twice, as a mother.

As far as...

Getting Past "Stuck"

Today I'd like to welcome Alan Orloff to the blog. Alan is a fellow Midnight Ink author with a new release--Diamonds for the Dead. He's also writing a new series for Midnight Ink--The Last Laff series. Thanks so much for coming by today, Alan!

Thanks Elizabeth, for inviting me to guest post today. I love your blog and I totally agree, Mystery Writing Is Murder.

Sometimes, the words don't seem to flow. And sometimes, even when the words are appearing on your computer screen, they seem dull a...

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...