Writing Craft
On Writing: Ideas to Published Novel
New Book Available I’m so excited to announce TRANSITION: Love. Loss. Leverage. Murder is now available on Amazon paperback, Kindle, and Audible. As a writer, my gratification comes not only from completing and publishing each novel, but also when I get to talk with, receive reviews from, and have contact with readers who have enjoyed taking…
Read MoreWhy Read a Book Series?
Following an artist’s series or collections is to accompany the artist on their journey from those tentative first steps through their working years of evolution and changing perspectives. You get to engage with the ongoing characters, appreciate the writer’s style, and, with each book, “befriend” the artist through their work. It’s akin to meeting with…
Read MoreSeduction Secrets
For my first book, Seduction, I drew inspiration from many sources. Fictionalizing facts that were horrific in real life and emphasizing them through fiction. It is not an autobiography, with only the names changed, but a WTF-graphy. It was the first time I had sat down to write about the incredible greed and abuse present,…
Read MoreWriting & Research
My work in progress (WIP) is TRANSITION. I’m back at the Gregory Inn, Lake George, NY. Everything is going smoothly as I follow my rough outline until it’s not. The characters and plot development take a turn I didn’t plan for. In other words, my WIP puzzle is missing a piece. I have to put…
Read MoreTransition: The Middle
The middle is the bridge transporting the reader, you, from the beginning to the end of the story. Writing a book takes time and research in addition to story and persistence. The journey over the bridge from “I have got a great idea” to “they lived happily ever after” is tortuous. Whether you’re a plotter…
Read MoreIdeas? Write About What You Know.
I’m fortunate as I never run out of ideas. However, framing one or more into an entertaining story may take some time. Before I get into that, welcome. I hope you’ve coped well and safely with the summer’s heat, humidity, rain, drought, and/or wind. I scheduled two outdoor projects which are eighty percent done. Just…
Read MorePersistence — A Writing Essential
The road to success is paved with persistence, with an underlayment of information and earned luck—being in the right place at the right time with the right credentials. For me, after spending a lifetime reading books, I harbored a secret desire to write a commercial paperback, but the time was never right. Family, community, work,…
Read MoreWhy do I Write? Societal Gaslighting and the Climate Crisis.
A typical question for a writer is, “Why do you write?” For me, I write because I get pissed off and have to tell a story to make sense of my feelings. Usually, it’s because Power, with intention, data, and impact studies, manipulates our institutions for their own greed to the detriment of the people…
Read MoreEditing – A Writing Essential
My fifth book, EXECUTION, left my hands and my house at the end of February. It was much like the feeling when a high school graduate leaves for college. The experience was a mix of joy, relief, anxiety, apprehension, and sadness. For me, the creative process and solving problems are at the root of my…
Read MoreLetting Go
My draft of Execution, the 5th book in the CL Bluestein thriller Seduction Series, has left my hands, electronically, for those of my content editor. I’m expecting it back with comments and suggestions in two weeks, give or take. This is my fifth time doing this. I expected to be used to it. But no,…
Read More