Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Open to More Learning

I have numerous writing advice and teaching websites bookmarked on my computer. I get caught up in what I'm doing and don't go to them as often as I probably should. One of those excellent teaching sites is by an author/teacher named Kristen Lamb. In one of her recent blog posts, she succeeded in convincing me that I must work harder to write so that flashbacks are mostly unnecessry. I KNEW that flashbacks can interrupt the reader's immersion in the story. But like many I believed they were almost a necessity. I. was. wrong. Now to get back to my work-in-progress and weed out those pesky things as much as possible! Thanks, Kristen.
  

Not Really Gone!

Can't believe I haven't posted since last December. I guess I hibernated during that long cold winter. And now we seem to have jumped right into a long hot summer.
We did have a little bit of spring. Thankfully, the two outdoor booksignings I've done for the new book, were during those not so hot days in May.
Trail Days in Damscus, Virginia was a fun event I'd never done before. The energy level was over the top, of the tent! Talked to a bunch of hikers who hike the Appalachian Trail. Some were through-hikers, who hike all of the over 2,000 miles of the AT. Others call themselves 'section hikers' who hike the trail in sections, as time and money allow. All I spoke with were extremely nice.
The other booksigning I did, also in May and also the first time I'd participated, was Plumb Alley Day in Abingdon, Virginia. This is a unique event. A four block section of Plumb Alley is blocked off for a one day unusual kind of 'yard sale' for whatever you have to sell. It's sponsored and administered by the Abingdon Kiwanis Club to benefit children.
Another exciting first for me was my interview on WJHL TV's  Daytime Tricities broadcast last week. Ann was an easy-to-talk-to interviewer and I thoroughly enjoyed my brief appearance.
I have a couple more events scheduled and others in the works. Stay tuned.