Linda K Sienkiewicz

Writing life, line by line

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 continued reading … [Read more...]

What, Why, How: Nancy Owen Nelson

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WHAT?  For years I wrote poetry here and there, publishing one or two in journals and anthologies. My main focus was academic writing, so I spent much of my time in research. In 1995, I was asked to edit a collection of essays by women in the personal voice, called “feminist literary criticism.” The resulting book, Private Voices, Public Lives: Women Speak on the Literary Life (UNT Press, … [Read more...]

2016 Eric Hoffer Finalist – In the Context of Love

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In the Context of Love is a Finalist in the 2016 Eric Hoffer Awards for Commercial Fiction! Who's Eric Hoffer? Naturally, the first thing the husband asks me, after saying congratulations, is "Who's Eric Hoffer?" "Um... He's a writer. A philosopher," I said, too busy dancing around in joy to remember details. Actually, Hoffer was a fascinating guy, an anti-intellectual, the kind you could … [Read more...]

What, Why, How: Deborah Diesen

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What: I write children’s books. Many of them are in rhyme, including the books in The Pout-Pout Fish series (illustrated by Dan Hanna), but I also write non-rhyming stories. My latest book is Catch a Kiss (illustrated by Kris Aro McLeod), which came out this spring. Why: I love the sounds that words make, and I also love the rhythms of rhyming stories. Writing for children gives me a chance … [Read more...]

Don’t Let Research Slow Your Writing

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How much research does a writer need to do while they're actively writing? Won't it slow down the writing process? Research while plotting An interview in "The Big Thrill" with thriller author Elizabeth Heiter reveals writing habits concerning research that are useful to all writers. She does as much research as she can while she's still plotting out her novel: I love the research side of … [Read more...]