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To Outline or Not to Outline?
I continue to be amazed by people who make outlines of their stories, know where the story line is going and most of all know the ending before even writing the book. Who are these godlike folk and why am I not like them? I am a very off the cuff writer, I don’t know […]
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Who’s Next?
I recently went through a purge of my walk-in closet cause I couldn’t walk into it anymore. In a file cabinet, I found the envelope of my rejection letters. My husband thought I should keep them so I never did business with them in the future, but I thought that really wasn’t healthy. Instead, I […]
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FCAT – The New ‘F’ Word
I recently had a conference at my son’s high school to go over his IEP and find out why he’s failing. I asked why only one of his teachers had called me – the week before grades went in – to tell me he was going to fail if he didn’t pass the exam. Out […]
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In the Midst of Madness
Finding time to write is something every author deals with. Some of us have more time to devote to it than others, but still find that life intrudes. I just spent the month of November taking the National November Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) challenge. While it’s invigorating to test my writing abilities, it also tests my […]
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When the Muse Strikes!
I originally wrote and posted this back in 2008. Seems like eons ago. It seemed worth updating and sharing once more. I’ve updated a few things to make it more timely, but otherwise, it’s the same as it was November 25, 2008. It was 5:45 this morning and I woke with a starting sentence in […]
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Name That Character!
This post was inspired by a post on the Second Wind Word Press page, by Pat Bertram. In it, she talks about how a character name shows a lot about the character. I started this as a comment to her, but it got too long, so I moved it here. Dellani I believe a name tells […]
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I Did It Again!
This November gave me another opportunity to sharpen my writing skills by participating in the National November Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) challenge. Those who participate agree to write a complete novel, 50,000 words or more, in the month of November. For more details, look at www.nanowritmo.org Sounds easy? Think again. Finding the time to write each […]
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Creating a Character Sketch
Writers new and old sometimes have trouble finding a place to start. We are full of all kinds of ideas, and jot them down in an effort to keep track of them. Getting these ideas into a cohesive whole can be trying. As an A.P. English teacher, I had to take high school students into […]
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Breaking the Writer’s Block
Three o’clock in the morning, and I’ve been staring at the monitor for hours, unable to get anything coherent written. Banging my head on the desk doesn’t help, although it does dislodge a stack of papers exposing a CD I’ve been missing for months. I pop the CD into the player and wait for inspiration. […]
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Character Interview with Gabriella Deza of “Indian Summer”
Second Wind: What is your story? Gabriella: I haven’t much of one yet, I’m only just 15, but what there is of it is told in “Indian Summer.” SW: Who are you? G: I am Gabriella Deza, youngest daughter of Governor Ferdinand Deza. SW: Where and when do you live? G: I […]
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Dellani Oakes 
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