-
Leveling Up at Midlife: Learning to Write a Romance Novel
After nearly two decades of writing crime fiction, I thought I understood difficulty. Murder plots. Historical research. Layered mysteries. Turns out, none of that prepared me for writing about two divorced people learning how to trust again. This year, I’m writing a slow-burn romance. And it’s humbling me in ways I didn’t expect.
-
The Market Where I Found My Voice
How I Learned That Selling Books Is Really About Sharing Life I sold my books on the road for the first time this week and quickly navigated the nuances of in-person selling. A Holiday Market The event was the Hearts and Hands Holiday Market at my church. Vendors from around the city and state converge in the gym and fellowship hall of Memorial Drive United Methodist Church and sell products ranging from home decor, clothes, kids’ toys and games, and hand-made jewelry. It doesn’t hurt that the pumpkin patch is right outside. Really gets the fall vibe in your eyes…as you sweat under summer-like weather conditions. I’ve been a customer…
-
Lessons from a Surprising Summer of Writing
How’d your writing summer go? Long-time readers might remember my penchant for writing “seasons,” distinct pockets of time, with definite beginnings and endings, and there’s no better writing season than summer. Ninety-ish days, bookended by two holidays. So how’d you do? For me, it was the summer of surprises, and lessons learned. The Thing I Knew on Memorial Day As the summer started, I was writing my novel, Mid-Lives. It was in the final phase and I had given myself a deadline of 1 July (after I failed to meet my original 1 April deadline). I beat that July deadline by a week. Turns out having a box set of…
-
When a Book Hangover Spills Over Into Your Writing
If you recall last week’s post, I wrote about book hangovers. Those are the books you read that you love so much that you find it challenging to start the next book because you just want to bask in the halo of the book you just finished. This happened to me recently when I re-listened to Charm City Rocks by Mattew Norman. Turns out the halo/hangover from that book not only caused me to listen to anything other than a new novel but also manifested itself in my writing. The Genesis of the New Project A few weeks ago at church, a friend of mine who is an actor started…
-
How the Parenthood TV Show Helped Write My New Novel
It’s fascinating what influences us writers. In my last post at the original blogspot version of DoSomeDamage, I wrote about finishing my latest novel, Mid-Lives. It is the story of four middle-aged men who grapple with a central question: where were you when you realized you were old? The idea began six years ago this summer, in 2019, with an odd observation: what would the characters from the Kevin Smith movie, “Clerks,” be like when they got older. As surprising as it may sound, I never watched any of Smith’s films until that summer when I binged them all. I recognized myself in the characters from Clerks and Mallrats and…
-
What Happens When You See Your Story Differently?
Sometimes, the ending of a story changes. I finished my latest novel today. And no, writing “The End” on a story—and I literally do that—never gets old. This story had its spark in 2019. I piddled with it off and on until New Year’s Day 2025 when I decided this book would be the book I finish this year. I intended to finish it by 1 April. That didn’t happen. But I’m really glad it took me this long because I never would have reached the ending I wrote. Am I Really Changing the Ending? As I walked the dogs on Thursday evening, I was pondering how and what to…
-
Sometimes a Story Sprint is Exactly What You Need
Sometimes you just have to sprint. I’ve been writing a novel for the entire year. Restarted on New Year’s Day with an end date on 1 July. We all know novel writing is a marathon, an endurance test of stamina and devotion. But last weekend, a fun thing happened. I was inspired to write a short story. A week ago yesterday, at work, I encountered a gentleman who works for my company. I’d heard about him, how his mind works, and how interacts with my fellow employees. In some ways, he’s on a different level altogether. In the course of my introduction, he dropped a quote about how he views…
-
The Great Summer Writing Season
Here in the United States, summer officially begins this weekend. It ends 98 days later on Labor Day, 1 September. I know it is a great time to travel, watch summer blockbuster movies–Superman! Fantastic Four. Superman. Mission Impossible (it’s AWEsome!). Jurassic World. Did I mention Superman?–catch up on some TV, sit on the patio or beach or dock and sip something cold, and just enjoy the summer vibe. But it can also be used to write. Think of it: perfect bookends. There is a beginning and an end. There are 98 days of summer. If you were to write up to 1,000 words per day, you’d have a novel. Okay,…
-
What “Saturday Night Live” Can Teach Writers About Failure
Failure sucks, but failure isn’t all bad. After rehearsal on Thursday night, I came back home to find my wife watching a new four-part documentary on the history of Saturday Night Live. I missed the first episode and most of the second, but I ended up watching the last two. The third episode is an entire deep dive on the Cowbell sketch. That was fun. The fourth, however, was brand-new to me. Entitled, “Season 11: The Weird Year,” it details the new-to-me saga of that year. And there was a lot I didn’t know. Randy Quaid was a cast member?! Full disclosure: I didn’t start watching SNL regularly until my…
-
Give Yourself the Grace to (Re)Start Your New Year’s Resolutions
How are your New Year’s Resolutions coming along? Today is Quitter’s Day 2025. It’s the day when a shocking 80% or more people who made New Year’s resolutions have tapped out. These are the same folks who made decisions so fervently at midnight on 1 January. I’m one of those folks who always uses a new year (or month or week or day) to reset myself and my habits. Because that’s what resolutions really are, habits. Some of these habits have become embedded in my internal hard drive. I no longer need to keep track of my daily flossing because, years ago, I created the habit. Ditto for my daily…