Sitemap - 2024 - Living Happy and Write Better Now!
Changing the World Together in 2025
A Couple of Quick Hints to Keep Your Reader Hooked on Your Book
Let's Talk About Bad Guys and Motivations
Cloud and Marsie on Idle Moments
Happy Holidays for those of you who have them coming up.
What Does It Mean to Write To Market?
DENIED: Mr. Murphy and the Loaf of Bread
Flirt your eyelashes off, writers
I Smelled Like Pee at the Wedding
Writing Transitions! Transitions!
Hugging Strangers is Possibly the Best Way to Be Human
Pogie Needs Baked Goods (according to Pogie)
When Your Dad Is Magic You Know There Is Beauty In Weirdness
Sometimes It's OK Not to Fit In
Marketing! Gasp! Even writers have to do it
Every Day Is a Whole New Life, Writers and Other Humans
Cloud the Cat On a Table on a Tuesday
Making a Living as a Writer is About Attitude, too
Pogie Poogs Looking at the Table
Sangria of Thanksgiving Awesome for Writers Who Need Some Magic, Damn It
This Post Is About Making a Living as a Writer, Sort Of.
Zombie hamsters and making the best dialogue with some easy tips
Thumb in the eye and what the heck AI
Taking 20% of Your Time To Follow Your Dreams & Also I Will Never Be a Singer & That's OK
Drama is "life with the boring bits cut out." Dialogue is, too.
Writing Dialogue: What is it supposed to do
Mr. Murphy Dog Solves Problems
How to Write Good Dialogue, Wallabies, and the Three-Beat Rule
The Least You Can Do & My Nana's Tears
Marcus Aurelius and Mr. Murphy
Life is Full of Stress and Hit Novels Are, Too
Our very first podcast episode was terrible
Mr. Murphy & Pogie Sharing the Couch
When you're being mean to yourself, you're being mean to her, too.
Wishes, Fears, Memories and Futures
Simplicity. A key to being a best seller?
The Maverick: An Element of Superhits?
Some features of the top selling novels
Compassion Despite Social Media
Suspense and Other Elements of Writing a Hit Novel - Let's Talk the American Dream
Swallows and Sitting on the Floor
Want to be popular? Try a fish out of water
Shh . . . It's a Secret . . . Society
Facts in Fiction Help Elevate Your Novel to Bestseller Status
America as Paradise? Part of Making A Bestselling Novel?
Mr. Murphy Who No Longer Shakes
Mr. Murphy and Thoughts on Perfection
Pogie With One Ear Up Quoting Mary Oliver
Tick...Tick...Tick...Using Time to Make a Hit Novel
I'm Half Blind? Are You Serious?
Writing Bestsellers: How Hot Are Your Buttons?
Hot Buttons Topics and Hit Novels
Pogie the Pup, Mr. Murphy, and Anxiety
Pogie and Mr. Murphy on the Couch
World Suicide Prevention Day is Today
My Voice is Unrefined and I'm OK With That, How About You?
Guest Post From A Doggy Love Nugget
Let's Get Dangerous: The Secrets of Making a Hit Novel
Connecting: It's Part of Making a Bestseller
The Absolutely Simplest Plot Structure Ever
Hanna, Irene, Women, and the Power of Rhubarb Pie
The Secrets of Making A Hit Novel
Show Don't Tell Baby Face, Cutie Pie, Cutie
Mr. Murphy on the Upside Down Cushion
Are You Leaving Your Readers With Fear or Hope?
Mr. Murphy on the Coffee Table
What Do Readers Want? And the Kentucky Meat Shower Incident of 1876
Why I'm Deliberately Losing My Headphones
Why Your Book Might Be Getting Rejected: Your Query Package
The Elements of Storytelling: The Atomic Bomb Test
A Guy Whose Name Is Not Johnny
The Biggest Thing You Can Do as a Writer Is Be Unafraid
How To Survive Bad Writing Advice
Five Quick Ways To Get Story Ideas
Pogie on a Monday About Changing Menus
What Happens When People Don't Read?
Cloud in the Window on a Friday
Yo! Be High Concept (in writing and life) to Build Your Story
Setting Is SO FREAKING Important
Everything You Need To Know About How I Messed Up
A Woman Once Bit Another Woman To Get My Book
How to Make Awesome First Lines
Animal Thoughts But With Flowers
Why Are Publishing Imprints Closing?
Pogie the Puppy Talks Mary Oliver
Want to Develop Your Writing Style?
How to Develop Your Writing Style
How To Write a Book Description That Gets Readers Tingling All Over
NOVEL STRUCTURE: THAT SECOND PINCH POINT. OUCH, RIGHT?
Pinch, there it is; googly eyes on the train, and yes, we are on our 37th career this year
How One Little Newspaper Gives Me Hope Even When Hope Seems Impossible
How To Write A Great First Paragraph and Opening Scene
Where Exactly Are You Meant To Pinch
To Be An Artist (or a Happy Human) Maybe Learn to Let Yourself Be Lucky
Cloud and Laps and a Better World
Creative Burnout: How to Get Through and Get On
Just an hour a day makes you (and your writing) more bad a**
The Grandma and Grampa Routine
Writing Amazing Scenes: She's Such a Character
Are there really only a few types of stories out there?
Fighting, Commerce, and Ten-Cent Beer: Welcome to America and How to Frame Stories
Shaun and a Turtle and Big Foot
The Black Bear Eats More Than Blueberries
Let's Talk About Four Act Story Structure
Pot Plants Invade Wisconsin and Alternate that Plot Structure
Being an Army Mom on Memorial Day
Author to Author Interview with Ellen Booraem
Marsie and Pogie and Jowl Pillows
When I think of magic, I think of word processors and love
Trying to both reclaim my goofy and find it again
Fear, Your Novel, Your Characters, and You!
No cow cuddles, no brain worms: Do you want to be happy?
Why Mother's Day Makes Me Think About Online Communities
I vs Me and Making the Right Choice
Celestial Bodies, Sexy Knees and Story Structure via Robert McKee
Mr. Murphy looks down the road
Why Positive Thinking Is a Bit Overrated
Pogie & Mr. Murph on the floor
“Prepare to die, Satan claims you, Carrie.”
How To Make a Good Book Better
How Not To Be a Butt-Hole in Real Life and on the Page
Every Month I Think About This So I Can Keep Going
First Kisses, Green Teachers, and Civility
Apologies and Help My Story Has Fallen and It Can't Get Up
Grammar Talk: Modify that Dangler.
Someone was sleeping outside her tent right next to her and how to make good writing habits
Mr. Murphy and Pogie Reveal That Dogs Are Actually Hobbits
Marsie's Monday Motivation Or Living Though You Know You're Dying
Steps to Defining Yourself & the Red Tie Man of Identity Labeling
How Do You Use Memories to Make Ideas for Stories
Overcoming Negativity Bias & Toilet Rats
Marsie in the Window Thinking about Marcus
Who Are You Most Likely To Trust?
MARKETING 101 IS ALSO LIFE 101
When Critiquing Don't Be a Butt Face
Why it is okay to read books you’ve already read and sometimes there’s an alligator in your kitchen
How to Be More Courageous For Other People
Character Lies, Misbeliefs, Wounds
Detail Your Story Like It's a Car You Love
The Spiral of Ick and Quiet Winners: You Don’t Have to Flaunt Yourself to Succeed
Finding the Zone of Awesome (or Genius)
Work Spaces and Self Doubt (Videos! Gasp!)
What? Your Childhood Wasn't Awesome? Welcome to the World of Writers
Shaun went off the rails, but this was supposed to be about how do you sustain a career as an author
The Sliding Door Moments That Make Things Super Hard Sometimes
Let's Be Fancy and Talk About Our Character's Interiority
INFO DUMPING IS NOT COOL JUST LIKE WRITING IN CAPS LOCK
The Info Dump from Hell and How to Avoid Them and Also UFOs
Cloud between a computer monitor and a keyboard
Making Life Better Isn't Usually About Self-Help Books
Getting Fleshier and Fleshier: Making Characters Feel Real
My Town is Having a Pinto Moment
Let's Talk About Those Telling Paragraphs
Control Your Tells, Don't Give In To the Passive
I write because the world doesn't make sense, how about you?
Learning Character On the Page
AVOID THE REPETITIVE PLAY BY PLAY
Author Interview: The Award Winning, Dog Loving Super Star Chris Lynch
Laughter is Actually a Really Good Medicine
Narrative Distance Is Your Friend
LET’S SHOW YOU HOW SHOW VS TELL WORKS! Florida Man Poops on a Possum. We won’t show you that
Finding joy by the grocery store butter
Why the Town Budget Can Be Beautiful
Pogie Loves Marsie. That's it. That's the post.
Cloud Chilling on the Coffee Table Thinking About Mary Oliver
GET INTO THE BRAIN IF YOU WANT TO SHOW AND NOT TELL
Pogie thinks about love and cookies
THE PROBLEM WITH ADVERBS & BEARS IN THE DOGGY DOOR: Let’s Show, Not Tell.
The Cats and The Sliding Glass Door
Sick Cars, Good Friends and Human Connections
Show vs Tell: Telling is the Bud Godzilla of Novel Writing Sometimes
Show Us Your Wounds Writers and Stealing Seven King Cakes
The What-Does-He-See-in-Her Ladies and Put-Her-In-Her-Place Men
TELLING IS SOMETIMES OKAY AND BETTER THAN SHOWING
Mr. Murphy Thinks About Squirrels
Writers Are Promise Makers, Plus a Screech Owl Chilling With Board Games
Making Happy Memories Often Involves Firsts
TROPE ME OUT, BABY: THE JUMP SCARE AND JANUARY IS A BLISSED OUT MONTH
L on the Bed, Pogie Behind Him