Tag Archives: craft

Thursday Thoughts: Universal Angst

Posted on March 4, 2021 by Silver James

When plotting and writing a story–especially romance, there has to be conflict. External conflict. Internal conflict. Hopefully a mostly 50-50 split of the two. External conflict is easy. Those are things that happen mostly outside the Protaganists’ control, stuff that … Continue reading →

Posted in Craft, Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Thursday Thoughts: Universal Changes

Posted on February 11, 2021 by Silver James

Those of us who write fiction most often live in our heads. We have worlds in the there, populated with place and people and critters and…well…lots of things. Quite often, we transpose our own experiences onto those of our characters. … Continue reading →

Posted in Craft, Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Thursday Thoughts: Universal Thinking of Everything

Posted on December 10, 2020 by Silver James

A few days ago, a friend said something that made me think of a song–“The Rainbow Connection.” There’s a version sung by Willie Nelson that’s used as the soundtrack for a commercial currently playing. I forget the product being advertised … Continue reading →

Posted in Craft, Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Thursday Thoughts: Universal Editing

Posted on December 3, 2020 by Silver James

This messge from the Universe dropped into my inbox and I was like…See!?! This!!! I KNEW The Universe was in publishing. LOL This is what every writer I know goes thorugh. Doesn’t matter if we are plotters or pantsers, plantsers … Continue reading →

Posted in Craft, Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Thursday Thoughts: Universal Relevance

Posted on November 19, 2020 by Silver James

Back in the dark ages, when I went to college, one of my classes studied “The Peter Principle,” “Parkinson’s Law,” and “Murphy’s Law.” There were books. And discussions. And the class was actually a study of government bureacracy, case you … Continue reading →

Posted in Craft, Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Thursday Thoughts: Universal Worldbuilding

Posted on August 27, 2020 by Silver James

One of my favorite parts of writing is the worldbuilding. As a kid, I was drawn to the fantastical worlds created by Andre Norton, the European locales featured in Mary Stewart’s mysteries, the rugged western landscapes of Louis L’Amour. Yes. … Continue reading →

Posted in Craft, Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Thursday Thoughts: Universal Places We Go

Posted on August 6, 2020 by Silver James

When you write fiction, your greatest talent is your imagination. Oh, it helps to be a wordsmith–the ability to form sentences that tell your story, but without that all important imagination, there’s not much of a story to tell. See, … Continue reading →

Posted in Craft, Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Thursday Thoughts: Universal Appearances

Posted on June 18, 2020 by Silver James

Whenever I do a “talk” with readers, one consistent question that comes up is about creating characters. Where do I get my characters? How do I develop their personalities, backstories, arc, etc.? When this message from the Universe hit my … Continue reading →

Posted in Craft, Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Thursday Thoughts: Universal Knowing

Posted on September 26, 2019 by Silver James

I’m nosy. I eavesdrop on conversations in public places. I watch people. I want to know what’s going on. Why? Because I’m a writer. Writers are almost always students of human nature. We have to be. Yes, characters and stories … Continue reading →

Posted in Craft, Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Wednesday’s Words – Concealed

Posted on February 19, 2014 by Silver James

OMGWTFBBQ! Yesterday was release day for CONCEALED IN DEATH, the latest addition to the Eve Dallas/In Death series. I opened it up on my Kindle while waiting in line at the post office. And seriously considered letting people go in … Continue reading →

Posted in Craft, Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments