Monthly Archives: July 2011

STOOP

Wild Word Friday! The elders in our little community often refer to a porch as a STOOP, and, when I hear that word, I visualize the daub-and-wattle huts of ancient times where a hard, swept-dirt pad fronts a small low door. … Continue reading

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39. Sound Check

It’s very tempting to send YOUR Novel out into the world without a last rewrite for word use and phrasing, but please, after all your hard work, don’t succumb to the temptation to let that baby face the query gauntlet … Continue reading

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FORTE

One of the first words I learned as young piano student was FORTE. FORTE is an Italian word (pronounced fore- tay) and it means loud. I loved seeing that little word FORTE printed on my music. Kick it in! Pound that keyboard! Permission to be … Continue reading

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38. Research redux

As you edit YOUR Novel, you may want to schedule a rewrite with your research in mind. This is pretty much a given for authors of historicals or techno-thrillers. Not so much for those who write contemporary fiction. An intensive research … Continue reading

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CHOUSE

Wild Word Friday! I’d never heard of the word CHOUSE (rhymes with house) until a month ago when I was browsing through a dictionary, and there it was, important enough to be tucked in its own little dictionary niche. Thus I learned … Continue reading

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37. Lazy

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I get lazy. That’s not always bad. We all need a lazy day (night or evening) to regenerate after hectic times. But when it comes to novels, nothing pops a reader out of … Continue reading

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CHICANERY

Wild Word Friday! Don’t you just love a word like CHICANERY? Just saying it out loud engenders all kinds of mischievious images. Most of the CHICANERY in mylife happened when I was a kid. My younger brother Bob was my sidekick. Actually, I … Continue reading

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36. Plot Redux

YOUR Novel! My dad has always been one of my alpha readers. He’s a speed reader. For him it’s all about story. My third draft is all about plot, and as I rewrite, I try to see what I’ve written “through my … Continue reading

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FATHER

Wild Word Friday! We couldn’t do a post last week about the word mother without including one this week about FATHER. My FATHER is a retired teacher and an active golfer. At age 84 he still regularly shoots in the … Continue reading

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