Puppy Love
Now that my oldest is five, I've been letting him watch a bunch of Disney movies, especially the older ones. The other day I was thinking about my favorite movies as a kid, and why I liked them.I realized that the movies I loved all had something in common. The hero.Yes, my twistedness started young. Some of my favorite heroes were Charlie the ex-con dog (All Dogs Go To Heaven), Butch the street-smart dog (Lady and the Tramp) and Robin the saving-the-poor and antagonizing-the-rich fox (Robin Hood).These characters are wild and flirtatious. Charmers. What do your favorite childhood

Thanksgiving Break
I wanted to do another post on dialogue, but family is in town and I have a feeling I'll be absent from the blogosphere. That said, I hope you all have a wonderful holiday week and weekend, and I'll see you Monday! Or sooner, if my blog addiction can't be contained. LOL

Oblique Dialogue
Writing dialogue can be a lot of fun but it can also be tricky. Dialogue is not the same as conversation. It is not question/answer format.Dialogue should lead to questions. It should entice the reader to turn the page. It should move the plot forward. I've never heard dialogue called oblique before chapter eleven in Stein on Writing. According to Stein, this type of dialogue is indirect.His example of oblique dialogue:SHE: Hi, how are you?HE: Oh, I didn't see you.The man doesn't answer the question. He circles around it and says

Gone Garage Saling
Tomorrow my mom and I are making the rounds! Anyone else trying to save some money on presents? Am I completely cheap to do this?

Controversial Changes
There are some changes in publishing. First, Christian publisher Thomas Nelson is partnering with Author Solutions in a new venture called WestBow Press. This will be Thomas Nelson's self-publishing arm. You can read some details at Writer Beware!.Now I've just found out that Harlequin is a part of a new press called Harlequin Horizons. There's some talk about whether it's a Vanity or a Self-publisher. Lots of talk, actually. Check out