Love to Write

Patricia at FAPA Conference Authors and publishers from across the country came together recently to learn more about all things related to writing, publishing, selling, and promoting their books at the Florida Authors and Publishers Association's (FAPA) two-day conference in Orlando. Congratulations to dear friend Bob Lucas for receiving FAPA's Founder's Award, given to a long-standing member…

At times, we work. Other times, we play. And sometimes, we get to both work and play at the same time. This week in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island was that kind of time. My husband Bob and I stayed in the most wonderful B&B, The Fairbanks House, an 8,000-square-foot 1885 Italianate villa owned and operated…

Has a book you’ve read changed your life? I recently looked at one of my favorite sources for book-related news and reviews, BookPage.com, and came across Journeys: Young Readers’ Letters to Authors Who Changed Their Lives, a compilation of fifty-two letters from young readers, grades four through twelve, to the authors of the books that changed…

Earlier this month, we shared an article about a man who waited more than twenty years to read a letter his grandmother wrote to him during the last solar eclipse. We invited you to take advantage of the upcoming total solar eclipse and write a letter to your own loved ones. The eclipse is finally upon…

The publishing world uses The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS)--all 1,146 onion-skin pages--as its industry standard for creative writing, so writers and editors must work to understand its rules and guidelines. I use this manual every day, and for years, I have trusted in the sixteenth edition. However, according to CMOS Shop Talk, “The rumors are…

Pamela Paul, editor of the New York Times Book Review and author of five books, introduces you to Bob in her most recent book out earlier this year, My Life with Bob: Flawed Heroine Keeps Book of Books, Plot Ensues. Bob is her Book of Books, a journal in which she has listed every book…

Think about projects you completed: What kept you going? How did you feel once you reached the finish line? What goals do you have now, and what is keeping you from accomplishing them? I want to focus on one reason keeping us from achieving our goals—writing excuses. I mastered the art of making excuses a long time…

Let's imagine the English language like a fashion show where a hot trend ten summers ago makes a comeback with a fresh look, maybe a new color scheme. But why did we stop seeing the outfit in the first place? In a sense, it went out of fashion. Words do the same thing. Sometimes, what was…

If you've heard me speak, attended a workshop, or participated in any of my classes or online programs, you know what a huge fan I am of the five-year journal. I've been keeping one now for more than twelve years, and I'm currently filling my third book. Because it takes only five minutes a day…

Do you write about your family history? Isn't it exciting when you discover a great story about one of your descendants? Isn't it, also, frustrating when you can't find any information about someone you'd like to know more about? Have you ever thought about what stories you are leaving (or not leaving) to your future…