Category: Writing and Reading
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Talking about Writing Novels on Online for Authors Podcast
On Teri M Brown’s Online for Authors podcast, we talk about buying a pre-revolutionary house sight unseen, pantsing versus plotting, writing endings, and beta readers who don’t pull any punches. Teri M. Brown asks me about my favorite character… that everyone seems to hate. I especially enjoyed discussing historical fiction and the difficulties of fathoming…
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The perils of writing parody (even more fictional than reality TV!)
I received an email from a friend. Partly due to cutbacks, she’s retiring as a professor of English literature at a midwestern university. My response was to say, “Oh, no! My God, more than ever, the world needs people teaching how to read and critically evaluate literature,” Her email came shortly after the first negative…
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Renovations
One good thing about being a doctor was no need for self-motivation. The impetus of time being critical helped, too, that someone needed me, often immediately. That didn’t just add up to taking care of others. Helping solve a patient’s physical or emotional problem in a visit was instant validation for me, especially since I…