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Theme.  That’s an elusive term to grasp.  If a writer pushes too hard at a theme, it’s easy to overdo, and she comes across as preaching.  If a writer doesn’t care about a theme, then it�

Many of you know that, surprise, surprise, I was not an English major in college.  I was a physics major, and the language I spoke and even wrote in during college was mathematics because it’s t

In February, I attended a writer’s retreat.  We ate chocolate.  Talked a lot, laughed, and even cried.  And yes, we did write.  But one of the best things we did was learn about the mysteriou

Recently, a fan of mine remarked, “Where’s the kick-butt female character?”  He was talking about Operation Shadow Box, where the lead character is a guy.  Then, when a writer friend of min

Some of you may wonder why I’ve been silent for a bit on the blogs.  The past month has been hard.  As I previously wrote, we lost our female basenji of fifteen years, Aspen, on March 18.  Sin