R.L. Herron's Blog, page 9
June 17, 2016
Are You a Plotter or a Pantser?
The joy of winging it. If you’re a writer, you understand when I mention one of the big discussions making the rounds in writing groups recently revolves around the way an author goes about putting down his thoughts. It boils down to an easy question. Are you a plotter or a pantser? Personally, I think […]
June 4, 2016
Why Make an Audio Book?
Audio Books Are In. I’m pleased to announce that during the few extra minutes I’ve gained by cutting back a bit on writing, I’ve been considering producing audio versions of my books, and my first novel, REICHOLD STREET, is my logical first choice. What’s taken me so long? Good question. Well, it all began more […]
May 27, 2016
Do You Need an Occasional Writing Break?
I think we all need some time to reflect. I published my sixth book in four years in May, and I'm already 12,000 words deep into book number seven. As I promised my lovely bride (46 years in June) I’ve taken a break from writing. Not in any dramatic way … I still intend to […]
May 14, 2016
Things That Matter
My latest novel, Blood Lake, was just published. You will find it on Amazon and online at Barnes & Noble. (Whew!) There, the shameless publicity effort is done (don’t I wish). Now on to more important things. Writing is hard work. The last few months have been hectic, and I’ve quite often been less […]
April 14, 2016
Secrets to Writing a Best-Seller
Stephen King in Bridgton, Maine (picture © Rolling Stone). If you’ve read my blog for any length of time, you know one of my favorite authors is Stephen King. Not that I enjoy all of his work. I readily admit I don’t. However, he did write some of my favorite stories. Among them: Shawshank Redemption, […]
April 3, 2016
When Did You Start to Write Stories?
When You Feel the Urge to Write … You Write. I’ve been thinking about all the wannabe authors out there. I don’t know why. I suppose it’s because I’m in the same boat with them. I write because I feel the urge to put my stories down for others to read. It’s something I have […]
March 14, 2016
Why Do I Write?
American author Joyce Carol Oates has a Detroit background, just like me, which is what first drew me to find out about her work. Unlike me, she has taught at Princeton University since 1978. Although I don’t consider her one of my favorite authors, the critics seem to love her. She’s won many awards for […]
February 24, 2016
How Fast is Fast?
I passed an interesting milestone recently, and it’s made me do some serious thinking. The milestone? The thirty-ninth anniversary of my twenty-ninth birthday. If you’re young enough to wonder what that means (or why I would use that phrase to describe my age) … well … the 1960s was the decade of my “coming […]
February 8, 2016
Should Indie Authors Survey Their Readers?
Surveys Can Point Out Better Ways to Go. Taking a page out of business school (please, bear with me, I like to think the effort to get that MBA years ago was good for something), in my post last week, in addition to a “teaser” from my next book, I included a link to a […]
February 1, 2016
To Podcast or Not to Podcast?
Knowing Which Way To Go Is Not Always Easy. ********** I’ve included (one more time) my recent podcast where I answered reader questions about indie writing (duration approx 15 minutes): However, instead of following it with my usual rant about indie publishing, I thought today I’d skip some of that. Instead, I have a simple […]
