Pay Attention

by | Sep 21, 2022 | A Writer's Life, Doug's Perspective, Doug's Stuff

Pay attention to what’s happening around you. Those snippets of conversation you overheard in a restaurant or supermarket, the car you saw going the wrong way down a one-way street in the busiest part of town during rush hour, the elderly man limping down a dark alley...

Write Things Down

by | Sep 19, 2022 | A Writer's Life, Doug's Perspective, Doug's Stuff

Notice what’s happening around you. As you go about your daily routine, notice the exciting, the mundane, the insane. Jot it down to remember the moment or person that got your attention. You can use your phone to record the information, or if you’re old school like...

Haiku and the Fiction Author

by | Sep 14, 2022 | A Writer's Life, Doug's Stuff

I enjoy reading haiku. And I enjoy writing them. Haiku is a short poem. Haiku originated in Japan and were composed of 17 sound units. People who write haiku in English write poems comprising 17 syllables. If you write haiku regularly, you observe nature and beauty....

My Favorite Authors

by | Sep 9, 2022 | A Writer's Life, Doug's Perspective, Doug's Stuff

My favorite authors are James W. Hall, Robert Crais  and Lee Child. They write novels that keep me turning pages. I also learn a lot about writing fiction from these authors. James W. Hall creates compelling stories about a loner named Thorn. For Thorn trouble seems...

Writing Prompts

by | Sep 7, 2022 | A Writer's Life, Doug's Stuff

Sometimes you need to prime the pump so to speak before writing the next chapter in your novel, or starting a new story. Something I often do is open the dictionary to any page, find a word and start writing. Another idea is to take a line from a book you like, and...