Linda K Sienkiewicz

Writing life, line by line

Why Rush to Publish?

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You wrote a book! You want it published! Now! Congratulations! I've felt that same excitement. However, I urge you to resist that impulse to self-publish right away. I know you're excited and, trust me, I know time is the downside of traditional publishing. It can take years. First you have to query agents. That can take a year or more of submitting your … [Read more...]

Dialogue Tags – Don’t Get Crazy

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Nancy Pontificated I'll never forget the time a line of dialogue in a Nancy Drew book that ended ...Nancy pontificated. I laughed out loud. Everyone knows Nancy Drew has strong opinions. She's always pontificating! Why would the author need to interject herself into the dialogue with such a dialogue tag as pontificated?! Said would have easily done the job, and I could have … [Read more...]

Dining in the Dark – A Sensory Experience

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When my husband first told me he wanted to eat at NOX Dine in the Dark restaurant in Singapore, I thought he was crazy. Dining in the dark? Imagine eating a three course meal in total blindness. Why would anyone want to do that? Heightened expectations Well, I'm so glad I did. It turned out to be educating in many ways. NOX was the highlight of our holiday, … [Read more...]

How I Learned to Be a Friend

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I don't remember how old I was when I met Jennifer. Maybe six or seven. She and her family moved into a house three doors from ours on a quiet cul-de-sac with only 20 other houses with great big yards in Independence, Ohio. My only playmate until then was a boy. My heart just about burst with joy when I met Jen. All Day, Every Day It seemed we were together … [Read more...]

Writing is no orderly process

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  My novel doesn't start at the beginning. Is this an inside writing joke? What I mean is the narrative in my story isn't ordered chronologically. It wasn't always that way, but when it was in chronological order, the opening chapters of In the Context of Love read like a YA novel. It is definitely not YA. Something had to change. Shuffling the … [Read more...]