Introducing Guest Author: Mary Lu Scholl

 

Introducing Guest Author: Mary Lu Scholl

Happy October to all our Pen Dames readers! We hope you are enjoying cooler weather as autumn approaches. 

We are eager to introduce you to our next guest author, Mary Lu Scholl, a fun-loving, creative writer of Cozy Mysteries, who writes wherever she happens to land. 

Here is the Book Blurb for Fatal Philandering:

Patty Decker is just trying to get along in her new-ish life in a 55+ mobile home and RV Park (well, kind of trying.) She can't help it if she's Johnny-on -the-spot when there's an unexplained death! Of course, they didn't HAVE unexplained deaths until she moved there... 

She's a crotchety old woman who is just a little socially awkward (all right, a lot socially awkward) who struggles with tact, diplomacy, you know, empathy. 

In Fatal Philandering (book 9 of Trailer Park Trevails), a couple of actors show up to get a brief respite from the star-struck life they normally lead; just a little health break. Whoops. 

She didn't do it, but she's in the thick of it again...

A fun interview with Mary Lu: 

1. What can you tell us about YOU that will allow us to get to know you better - where you live, your background, jobs, interests, etc.? 

I'm a retired Postal Manager, but have done dozens of other jobs to keep body and soul together when young, and because I could, after retiring. I've been everything from a waitress to a landscape worker, picked tomatoes and cared for Developmentally Disabled Adults. 

2. What books were your favorites as a child?

Mmmmmm . . . I read a lot of science fiction, and most of the classics in elementary and middle school - The Dune Trilogy, anything by Heinlein or Clarke. Then there was Stephen King. All the mysteries, Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew. Others included Jane Eyre, Forever Amber, The Master of the Game by Sydney Sheldon, and Tolkein. Johanna Lindsay wrote remarkable characters. 

3. How and when did your writing journey begin? 

As a young adult, I wrote a couple of novels and had an agent for a while, but couldn't seem to break through. After I retired, I wrote another novel, set in western Colorado. Then I moved here and was, coincidentally, living in a mobile home and RV park for a while . . . That was in 2018. I have written twelve novels since then.

4. What genre is your book? What do you like about writing in that genre?

I write cozy mysteries. I do like it. Blood, guts, gore and sex are 'off screen' implied. There is no - or very little mild profanity depending upon your perspective. My parents told me that profanity was the mark of a lazy vocabulary and I could make my point much more succinctly using real words.

5. What inspires you to write?

I like to make people laugh. I enjoy exploring the foibles of human nature. I've had a very varied life with a lot of experiences. Using them in the narratives of my books lets other people experience them. I have learned so much from books. I need to perpetuate the gift.

6. What is the setting of your book? Please describe it.

Citrus County, in Lecanto, mostly. In nine of the books, Patty Decker lives in a fictional trailer park on Gulf-to -Lake Hwy. (A 55+ community with two main roads and amenities like a pool, horseshoe pits, shuffleboard, a laundry and shower house, plus a clubhouse for community events.) The other three existing books are dovetailed to this series, but have a male protagonist living nearby the park. Bernie Murphy lives in a Sears House with a very big barn. He's a handsome Irishman returning to his roots. He finds his Irish mythology came with him, or was it already here?

7. Why did you choose this setting? Is it a real place or did you create it for the story?

It's fictional, but nearly all the situations, most of the conversations, and many of the details are straight out of my life.

8. Is your book part of a series or a standalone? If it is a part of a series, describe the series.

There are two series - In Trailer Park Trevails. Patty Decker has moved to Lecanto (aka Paradise in West Central Florida) to soak up sun and write novels in a twenty-five foot camper. What WAS she thinking? Camper Catastrophe sets the scene . . . The second one is Bernie Murphy in Nature Coast Calamities. He has returned to Citrus County and finds that the Irish mythology of his childhood might be real. (The Lecanto Leprechaun, Big Foot and the Bentley, and InverNessie.)

9. Describe your main character- life, personality, motivation- whatever you think will make us want to know this person.

If you want to get to know Patty, it's mostly to convince yourself that YOU are not like her. You have tact.

10. If you could spend an afternoon with any of your secondary characters, who would it be and why?

Patty's best friend is Dr. Catherine. She's very smart. 

11. What writing projects do you have on the horizon? 

Since I just released a Patty book, I'm writing my next Bernie book now. My last Bernie book, Pooka and the Pirates just received a 5 star review. 

12. What is your best advice for aspiring writers? 

Don't lose heart. Keep writing for yourself even if you never share.

13. Which authors/books are on your keeper shelves?

Too many to name. I keep authors I know - have met one way or another. I keep the classics, plus Kay Hooper and Jules Verne.

14. If you could meet any author, living or dead, who would it be and why?

Frank Herbert - because WOW. Or, Tolkein! 

15. What is your favorite book marketing tip? 

Elevator speeches - 90 second clips to capture your audience.

16. What do you like to do when not writing?

I garden and do needlework.

Excerpt from Fatal Philandering:

Chapter Five- Later Thursday - Patty

People were watering things they'd never watered before, just so they could be outside whrn the actor came. I was front and center, behind a shrub.

A car came. It was predictably, a convertible. Didn't they all drive convertibles?

At least until the squirrels ate the canvas.

JJ had a gold Sebring convertible. He had learned the hard way to protect the top from the adorable rodents with poison and Irish Spring soap.

Two men got out. Two? One was tall, had salt and pepper hair and a full beard, trimmed neatly and just long enough not to be confused with that nasty scruff the younger generation cultivates. He was neatly dressed, and stood with his hands in his pockets while waiting for the other man to join him. The second man was short and kind of soft looking. He had an amazing nose. He did have nice hair, even if the improbable cut (a mushroom shape?) was an improbable shade of strawberry-blonde for a man who had to be in his 50s. He carried a laptop case and wore those fancy big sneakers that make your feet look like aircraft carriers.

"Did Desiree say two of them were moving in?" I asked Doris.

I happened to be standing next to her, while she was carefully pruning a plant that had never been pruned before and would probably die from her enthusiastic ministrations.

"Give me those." I took her clippers away from her. "Text Pete."

Before she could do more than pick up her phone, she had an incoming text from Pete. Desiree says there are two of them moving in.

I read unashamedly over her shoulder. "How does he do that?" He seemed to always know when Doris wanted him and what she needed.

Doris just smiled. She was a newlywed and still under the impression that Pete was patient, perspicacious, and alliteratively perfect in every way.

"I'm the one in the bottom picture. Well, maybe the one in the top picture, too."

To contact Mary Lu, use the following social media link:

https://www.facebook.com/maryluschollauthor?mibextid=ZbWKwL

To buy Mary Lu's books, use this link:

https://amazon.com/author/maryluscholl

Pen Dames Pointers! Tips to Jazz Up Your Writing 2023-9-19

 A passion of Pen Dames is to help other writers by sharing tips and insights we have learned along the way. We hope you will find the pointers beneficial to your writing process. 

Jennifer Taylor

Plotting:

Every writer works out their plots differently. Some people (definitely not me) see the plot in their heads like a movie. If you're a plotter, you might write an outline. Over the years and the three novels I've written, I've tried different methods.  I have learned what works for me (although I'm always open to trying new things). I'm a semi-pantser and work on developing my characters first. 

Once I know what a character would do in a given situation, I take one of those big desk calendars-I usually pick up a couple at the end of the year when they're cheap. Instead of the day of the week, for example, I cross out "Sunday" and put "Chapter One". I'm a global type of thinker and tactile, so I like to have everything in front of me. So I use the calendar to jot down ideas for the chapter and which characters are featured. Remember, these are early days. I use the other calendar to jot down random ideas and eventually, I'll transcribe both "calendars" into my computer, which always seems to generate new ideas. 

This is my strategy for the early days of plotting. If you try it, I'd love to hear how it went for you. And if you have any questions, feel free to comment on our blog.

Flossie Benton Rogers

To tune in more deeply to your characters and descriptions, visualize your scene. Put yourself in the place of your point of view character and walk through the scene. Notice what she notices. Feel what she feels. What gestures does she naturally make while speaking? What sensations does she experience?  Getting to know her better can create more authenticity in character development.

Loretta C. Rogers

Does My Story Need Suspense?

Part I

The short answer is: Yes!

Every story, regardless of genre, needs some sense of build-up and suspense. No suspense at all will leave a flat story line. Utilizing suspense can move the plot forward, strengthen interest in your characters, and have your reader wrapped up in how you tell the story. If you craftily use foreshadowing, cliffhangers, red herrings, and symbolism, you can build depth to your story and make it come alive.

For example, in a romance novel you might create a cliffhanger by creating a new scene when a character professes his love after an emotional build-up, but you fast forward to a different scene or flash back to another before the other character responds.

In a thriller/suspense/mystery novel, you might need to draw out suspense for a couple of chapters. For example, you place your H/H in the middle of the action by having them running from someone or trying to catch someone or waiting to be rescued but the rescuer is delayed, and time is running out.

Stay tuned for the next Pen Dames Pointers where I will share 4 tips for crafting a suspenseful scene. 

Katherine Eddinger Smits

If you plan to publish and sell your books, I recommend setting up a website and establishing a social media presence before you begin submitting. That’s right! Do it now while you’re still working on your first draft. 

I know what you’re going to say. “I don’t have anything to show anyone yet.”

BUT

That is wrong. You have yourself, your writing process, your thoughts about the publishing journey, and so much more!

Readers want to know about you, the writer. When did you know you wanted to write? How long have you been writing? What are your favorite genres and books? Who are your favorite authors?

You can answer any of those questions and many more.

Start with one platform. Chances are, you already use at least one. If Facebook is your jam, establish an author profile. If you’re on TikTok, you have potential gold. Post, engage, and repeat.

Next, launch your website. Find a free one and DIY. You can do it. Once you know how, you’ll never have to pay someone else to create or maintain one. Trust me, this will save you a lot of money.

On your website, be sure to include a Landing Page so readers can sign up for your newsletter. Get all your family and friends to subscribe. 

Begin sending out newsletters. They don’t have to go out often or contain tons of content at first, but this will help you learn how to do them and get into the habit of sending them. 

Planning to submit to a traditional publisher? Great! You still need to do all of the above. Having a social media presence could actually help get your work accepted, and chances are, you’ll be asked to implement all these things and more anyway.

Take a little time and establish yourself on social media, your website, and newsletter. With each book you publish, the demands on your time will grow. Organizing all this early in the process will lessen the learning curve and stress of that first release!

Barbara Cairns

After a very frustrating day when technology problems threaten to fry my brain, my writing tip for this month is this: When everything seems to be going wrong, take a day off and do something completely different. Watch a movie on Netflix. Try out a new recipe. Buy a new plant. Phone your friends. Declutter a kitchen drawer. Take your dog for an extra walk. Surprise someone with an act of kindness.

etc. Just remember . . .  There's always tomorrow to write those exact words you want or to conquer that crochety computer.

Did these suggestions resonate with you? Let us know, and also let us know of any writing questions you have and topics you’d like us to cover in these Pointers.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy writing! Cheers from the Pen Dames.

Monster in the Dark - Who will be the next victim?

 To my delight readers often tell me that the paranormal events in my stories sometimes creep them out because the events seem so real; and I’m asked how I accomplish the realism. The answer is neither easy nor difficult. You see, my grandmother was a seer. Yeah, I know, it’s weird. However, she always said that her abilities were a curse and not a gift, and she never wanted any of her children or grandchildren to inherit this empathic ability. So, none of her grandchildren were allowed to have Ouija boards, tarot cards, or a Magic 8 Ball; and we were always cautioned to not ever visit fortune tellers.

Honestly, I never intended to write paranormal or scary stories; it seems to come naturally. Perhaps, a large part of this type story telling stems from my childhood.

As a child, I was considered a “little different,” so books became my best friend. My most favorite stories were fairytales with villains and villainess such as in Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Hansel and Gretel, to name a few. 

“Monster in the Dark” book #4 in my Doc Holliday Mystery Series was inspired by such fairy tale monsters. Please enjoy this excerpt from Monster in the Dark.

As one reviewer said, "A dark mystery that grabs you from the beginning and doesn't let go."

Available in Print and Ebook

At first, I thought it was a mannequin. You know, like the ones used in store windows. There was no blood. She was sitting in a chair with her back toward us. The room reminded me of a scene from a horror movie.

Dad said, “Mrs. Gardner?”

I thought about the time I’d been on the movie set of Lights…Camera…Murder where the stunt man was killed, but in this act, there were no supporting actors. In the distance, a dog barked, and there was no movie director to call “Cut!”

I swallowed the bile rising in my throat. The beats of my heart echoed inside my ears. I eased around the table. Oh, God! She was real. She was once…like flesh and blood and bone…just…oh, God! The woman I had thought was a mannequin was a corpse.

It was only the extreme brutality of her death that made her appear as if she were not, as if she was some creation of the most brilliant and lurid mind working in a Hollywood special effects studio.

A heavyset woman, clad in an old-fashioned granny dress, her wrists and ankles wrapped with silver duct tape, securely bound to the chair’s arms and legs, and with a double strip of tape that sealed her mouth shut, stared vacant-eyed at an empty soup bowl.

Dad gasped against the offensive smell. “Which fairy tale character is she supposed to be, Tullah, and how long do you think she’s been dead?”

Monster in the Dark is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, Kobo, Apple

https://www.amazon.com/Monster-Dark-Doc-Holliday-Mystery/dp/1509250476

 I always enjoy comments from readers. If, for some reason, you are unable to leave a comment, please feel free to comment on Pen Dames FaceBook page. I look forward to hearing from you.

HAPPY READING!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

           

Introducing Guest Author: Sarita Leone

 

Happy August to all of our Pen Dames Readers! We hope you are enjoying your summer. 

Continuing our guest author interviews, we are excited to introduce you to Sarita Leone, another of our favorite authors. We hope you will enjoy her books as much as we do.

Sarita is a multi-genre author of Historical and Contemporary romance. She also writes light comedy and ghostly experiences.

Getting to know Sarita:

Pen Dames: What books were your favorites as a child?

Sarita: I loved Nancy Drew! Also, Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh. I still have the copy I was given as a child. It is dog-eared and looks a bit frayed, but it is still well-loved.

Pen Dames: How and when did your writing journey begin?

Sarita: I think I began writing stories as soon as I could spell. There are little books with crayon-colored and watercolor-painted pictures to go along with the text in existence. They, too, are frayed, but show that I was always interested in telling stories.

Pen Dames: What genre is your book? What do you like about writing in that genre?

Sarita: Wylder Promises is a historical western romance. It is part of The Wild Rose Press’ Wylder Series. I love writing historical romance because it gives us a chance to fall back in time and enjoy a bit of history.

Pen Dames: What is the setting of your book? Please describe it.

Sarita: Wylder Promises takes place in Wylder, in the Wyoming territory. The land is rugged, the cowboys handsome, and the women stronger than anything frontier life can throw at them. The fictional town is a typical frontier town, with a saloon, mercantile, jail, schoolhouse, social club, dress shop, casket maker, and all the rest.

Pen Dames: What is your best advice for aspiring writers?

Sarita: I think the best way to learn a new skill is by practicing that skill. Take courses, learn from other authors, read about the mechanics of writing. And then, write. Then, write some more. And after that? Start all over again, and write.

Pen Dames: Which authors/books are on your keeper shelves?

Sarita: I’m a big Stephen King fan, so I have a nice collection of his books. I love the book Eat, Pray, Love because I read it at a time when I really needed an escape, and it offered one. And I enjoy John Grisham’s books. I have a number of them on my keeper shelves.

Pen Dames: What do you like to do when not writing?

Sarita: I love to travel. But really, who doesn’t like seeing interesting things and meeting new people? But having said that, I’m also a bit of a homebody. I love spending time with family and friends and enjoy a nice picnic or walk in the park. I go to the gym regularly and practice yoga. I also bake bread, so I’m often in the kitchen elbow-deep in flour!

   

Enjoy a blurb from Sarita’s Historical romance Wylder Promises:

When Gertie Jackson lost her husband in the war, she left Richmond searching for a new life. She wanted peace for her tortured soul...and she found it in Wylder.

Lane Hutchins rode to Wylder as a favor to an old friend...and to look once more upon the woman who'd stolen his heart years ago.

When Gertie's preparations for the big Founder's Day festivities sets off a streak of vandalism, Lane knows he can't leave while she's in danger. But will his efforts to win her heart push her further from him, or will Wylder's magic work to finally bring them together?

And for more enticement here is a short excerpt from Wylder Promises:

 

Even trail dusted, Lane Hutchins made a woman’s heart quicken. He had always turned heads when he’d been a young man. Time did well by him, turning his fresh, handsome features rugged and the spry step to a confident swagger.

 If she had a free hand, she would use it to pat her hair, but the fabric kept her at a disadvantage. She arranged her features into what she hoped was a neutral expression as he stepped up onto the wooden planking.

 “Trudy.” His voice, so deep and with its southern resonance, sent butterflies spiraling low in her gut.

 No one had called her that in over a decade. Her mouth went dry, and it took a moment to find her voice.

 “Lane.” A small jut of her chin toward her chest, but no smile. It wouldn’t come. “No one calls me that anymore.”

 His brow furrowed as he shifted the saddlebags on his shoulder. When he reached for the bolt of fabric, she didn’t resist handing it over. It had been a long time since a man carried her burdens.

 “Are you married again? If so, I apologize…I wasn’t aware that you’d taken on the ‘missus’ again.”

 She shook her head. “I’m not married but folks around town call me Gertie. I haven’t heard the other in so long, it took me by surprise.” Tilting her head to one side, she added, “Seeing you did the same. What are you doing in Wylder?”

 His smile set off a new round of fluttering in her midsection. “A happy coincidence?”

 

How to find Sarita:

Facebook

 

1.     Buy links for: Wylder Promises (The Wylder West) - Kindle edition by Leone, Sarita . Romance Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

 

 

Pen Dames: Sarita, thank you for being our guest author and sharing snippets of your personal life and your writing journey with us. I’m sure writers, both experienced and novice writers will find your writing advice helpful. P.S. I can almost smell the freshly baked bread. Yum!

Sarita: Thank you for inviting me here today. It was a lot of fun. I am a long-time reader of this wonderful blog, so it is an honor to make an appearance here.

 

Pen Dames Pointers! Tips to Jazz Up Your Writing 2023-7-1

 

A passion of Pen Dames is to help other writers by sharing tips and insights we have learned along the way. We hope you will find the pointers beneficial to your writing process.

Barbara Cairns

Do you like writing historical fiction?

World building makes a historical fiction book more authentic and gives readers a reason to keep reading. Include details about daily life in the time period you’re writing about. Use only historical information that will advance your story, including places, people and events.

Jennifer Taylor

Don't wait on "the Muse." The inspiration will only appear when you sit down and start writing. Give it a try!

Flossie Benton Rogers

Use the five senses to liven your prose: sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell. Let the reader see how your point of view character experiences the world. It not only gives the reader external information but also provides insight into your character’s emotions and internal landscape. If she walks into an antique store, does she quickly scan for an impression of the whole and conclude it’s cramped, dusty, and cluttered with old furniture? Or do her eyes light on a coveted red velvet Victorian loveseat that only needs a brisk cleaning? When she arrives for a class reunion, does she hear the excited murmuring of old friends, a cacophony of voices, or zone in on the strident tones of her archrival? 

Some writers like to demonstrate all five senses at some point during every scene. Although you don’t have to go that far, do make sure to use a variety of sensory impressions. It will go a long way in keeping your reader interested in what’s happening, involved with your characters, and immersed in your story.

Loretta C. Rogers

Keys to Great Characterization

1. Create characters that you fall in love with.

2. Make sure your hero and heroine react sensibly and heroically to outside events.

3. Make your characters strong, but give them a few flaws to make them interesting.

4. Give your characters goals to strive for.

5. Avoid stereotypes by understanding what motivates each character.

Katherine Eddinger Smits

Write what you love! Write the books you want to read about, the characters you want to live with and through. It doesn't matter if they are sexy, young singles, mature adults with fascinating lives in spite of or because of their age, or mermaids, witches, and other fantastic creatures in fantasy worlds. If you love them, they will jump off the page and into your readers' hearts. 

Don't chase market trends. They move too fast to catch, but like a brightly lit carousel, they come around again in time, and what was passé yesterday will be tomorrow's hottest genre.

Write what you love. Write your passion and your vision. Your words are your legacy to the world. Write the ones that bring you joy.

Did these suggestions resonate with you? Let us know, and also let us know of any writing questions that you have and topics you’d like us to cover in these Pointers.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy writing! Cheers from the Pen Dames.

Introducing Guest Author Interviews!

Happy June to all our Pen Dames readers! We are starting a new feature this month ~ Guest Author Interviews! We're excited to introduce you to some of our favorite authors and hope you will love their books as much as we do.

Our first interview is with the fabulous Sydney Brianna, who will give away a free ebook of her novel, Druid, to one lucky reader. Just contact Sydney at one of the links listed below (Website, Facebook, etc.) and tell her you heard about Druid from the Pen Dames. She will select one commenter to receive a digital copy. Hurry! Contest closes one week from the date of this post.

Sydney writes steamy romance mixed with epic fantasy and combines contemporary times with historical eras. How can she do that? Magic, of course!

Here's the blurb for Druid:

Through his work with a protective agency of immortals, the Custodes Pacis, Cináed spent centuries looking for the heir that would deliver the world from Ragnarök. His skills as a Druid Master prepared him for everything about this mission, except one thing: finding Scarlet. The mortal who turned out to be much more than just a being with a special lineage to gods.

At forty years old, civil engineering and gardening was about as exciting as it got for Scarlet. Surprises were a thing of the past, or so she thought, until the day her new purpose came strolling through her office door. The choice was hers. Save the world without him, or watch it fall away nestled in the arms of the millennium-old Druid Master worth risking everything for.

Love, and an apocalypse. Why not?

And here's our interview with Sydney:

Pen Dames: What books were your favorites as a child?

Sydney:  I read classics, mostly. Dickens, Dumas, Austen, Poe, Shakespeare, and the like.

Pen Dames: How and when did your writing journey begin?

Sydney:  I’ve dabbled with writing over the years, but I didn’t become serious about it until I had my hysterectomy in 2018. The first couple of weeks of my recovery, I must have DNF’d (Did Not Finish) seven Romance books that I started. None of the heroines were relatable. It was a topic of discussion between me and my thirty-something reading friends prior to my surgery, but after I had the procedure, it was glaring…and irritating. I couldn’t get away from the twenty-something virgins. As a forty-year-old mother and wife, at that moment, I wanted to read about heroines like me. So, I decided to write them. I write paranormal stories, and all of my immortal characters transition in their late thirties, early forties. My characters have pasts. They are a testament to the fact that older is smart and sexy.

Pen Dames: What genre is your book? What do you like about writing in that genre?

Sydney: Paranormal Erotic Romance. 

Paranormal Romance gives me the space to explore my imagination. To create grounded characters who are relatable, yet spectacularly different. To craft a world of fantasy where one can escape the humdrum of everyday life.

 

Erotic Romance writing gives us a chance to claim sexuality and be proud of it. I love the ability to create a gateway for someone else to feel welcome without judgment in their desires to imagine scenarios that may not ever happen to them. Sex is an important part of the human experience, and Erotic Romance gives us the permission to explore love and lust openly. It’s quite freeing to write it.

Pen Dames: Is your book part of a series or a standalone? If it is part of a series, briefly describe the series. 

Sydney: Druid is part of the Custodes Pacis series, which is Latin for Guardians of Peace. The series follows a team of seven immortal warriors from different cultures, races, and time periods. They are a special team working against the destruction of Earth’s inhabitants from different religious apocalypses. 

While the fantasy plot unfolds for our paranormal characters, each book also highlights a different love story, with Druid focusing on Cináed and Scarlet. 

All of my lovers vary in appearance, species, and origins. Scarlet represents a thick, forty-something mother whose son has moved on to college. She is a successful, professional divorcee, who has thick thighs, and yes, had a hysterectomy; and our millennium-year-old Scottish Druid warrior can’t get enough of her. 

Each book features a smart, strong, and relatable bad-ass heroine.

Pen Dames: What writing projects do you have on the horizon?

Sydney: I have published two of the seven books in this series, with the third coming on July 31, 2023. My goal is to publish one every three months until July 2024. Beyond that, I have notes logged for three standalone books.

How to find Sydney:

 Sydney Brianna Website

 Sydney Brianna Facebook

 Sydney Brianna Instagram   

  Amazon Author Page

 Tiktok: @sydwritessmut   

Druid on Amazon

Druid on Google Play

Druid Universal Book Link

The Pen Dames are five author friends who love each other’s work and admire and respect one another. We are enthusiastic about many things, including books, reading, and YOU—our readers.

Pen Dames Pointers! Tips to Jazz Up Your Writing 2023-5-9

 

A passion of Pen Dames is to help other writers by sharing tips and insights we have learned along the way. We hope you will find the pointers beneficial. 

Kathy Eddinger Smits

Join a writer's group--no matter what stage of the writing journey you are on, a writer's group will provide you with education, support, networking, and opportunities. It doesn't matter if the group is in person or on-line, genre specific or open to all types of writers, mostly beginners or mostly experienced. You have something to offer and they will have  a lot to give.

Barbara Cairns

Know that most writers have self-doubts, even experienced writers and published authors. Don't wait for the doubts to disappear. WRITE, WRITE, WRITE, despite any doubts. Remember, you are a writer!

Jennifer Taylor

Life is chaotic. Stuff happens--a lot! Are you feeling like you never have time to write? It's a fairly safe bet that everyone has 15 minutes in their day--or their night--to sit down and work on their story. Give it a whirl: set the timer for 15 minutes, and get started. Don't worry about what's going on paper--we're not talking about perfection. You may be amazed at what transpires during that time, but what's important is that you're building a habit by sitting down and getting started. Every day. Fifteen minutes. And you might just keep writing after the time is up.

Flossie Benton Rogers

A common writing trap is to complete a portion of a book and endlessly tweak it to make it better, rather than moving on and finishing the story. Sometimes the tweaking is because you want the story to be perfect. Sometimes it’s because you don’t know what comes next and don’t want to face the abyss of the blank page. In that case, jotting down freestyle notes and doodles about your story can help free up creative ideas. Then move on to your writing station. Finish the story! Readers are waiting for it.

Loretta C. Rogers

Whenever you find yourself with a new story idea, the first thing you should do is write it down (or type it out). It doesn't need to read well, or even to make sense! Just get all your thoughts about the idea on paper. The more aspects of the idea you have jotted down to work with, the better. You won't use everything you've written, but you never know where each random thought and tangent might lead, so don't hold back. Lastly, be sure to save this story idea in a folder to be worked on later.

Did any of these suggestions resonate with you? Let us know.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy writing! Cheers from the Pen Dames.