Harder than it has to be?

The art of simpler living has been on my mind and filling my blog posts a lot lately. The need to simplify hit me over the head once again as I looked over the boxes and bins and tubs and bags full of Christmas decorations now waiting to be hung and strung.


All these so-called necessities remind me of the rows of writing how-to books that adorn my office bookshelves. So many important words of advice one must apply in order to succeed at writing a great book. Or, maybe not. I sometimes wonder if there is a conspiracy among the published "experts" to narrow the field of competition by making the novice feel as if there is simply no way to learn all one needs to know before they, too, can become a success in the fiction industry. Yes, there are certain basics one needs to know before attempting to write a staggering work of fiction genius. But don't be overly intimidated by those who would have you believe that if you don't write your book the way THEY tell you to write a book, you're on the fast track to failure.

Apply the rules of basic good grammar and sentence composition. Create intriguing and relate-able characters. Build in plenty of opportunity for your characters to triumph over adversity and conflict. Keep the action intense. Write a story lots of folks would be interested in reading. And soon you, too, will be an expert trying to psyche out your competition with a complicated list of writing dos and don'ts.

Say, here's a simple holiday gift-giving idea from Santa Kai for the mystery readers in your life--how about calling Barbour's customer service line(800-852-8010 and ordering a 3- 6- or 12-month subscription to our Heartsong Presents--MYSTERIES book club line?