Come Write With Us!

I recently spent two weeks in the summer heat of South Africa, visiting with my wife’s family. It was nice to have time with her extended family and to show my little daughter (that’s her in the pic) some of the wonders of this country. But you know what else was great about this trip? I had the time to read four novels!

True Grit by Charles Portis, about a teenage girl avenging her father’s murder in the Old West. Continue reading “Come Write With Us!”

Surviving a First Draft

Based on completely unscientific evidence, I would say the downfall of most writers (let’s say 88 percent) is getting through a first draft. They jump ship; they just can’t make it.

Those writers (perhaps 12 percent) that manage to finish a first draft have a much better chance (let’s say 77 percent) of making it through at least two more drafts and sending their work on its way into the world. Continue reading “Surviving a First Draft”