Lynne's Blog
As a science center director in a former life, my job was to show our audiences how science works, not simply to tell them. The Aha! moments made the experience real for the thousands of kids, adults, and young adults that visited. When they left, there was a good chance they would remember the scientific concept behind the hands-on exhibit.
Writing is much the same. Writers need that Aha! encounter to grow and nourish their ideas into a final piece of work. That’s what this blog is all about. It’s about MY “minds-on” adventure with words — one I enjoy sharing with readers. Whether it’s about the research aspect, the craft of writing itself, or the emotional roller coaster of putting myself out there in the public eye . . . my blog is me. Pure and simple.
I welcome your thoughts and hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them.
Writing is All About Rewriting
Two weeks ago, I posted a blog called Dusting off an Old Manuscript. I got many replies from readers - - which leads me to believe that many writers struggle with this issue. The overwhelming feeling, however, was that it is, indeed, worth re-reading and most likely...
Location Really Matters
I recently read a mystery that had me completely riveted. I wasn’t able to put it down for three days, and I was bummed when I finished. Fortunately, a sequel is coming. The title: “A Killing in the Hills” by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Julia Keller. The...
Dusting Off an Old Manuscript
Some years ago, I wrote a follow-up novel to Time Exposure, a mystery about the Civil War. However, because I had changed the ending of Time Exposure just before it was published, suddenly my new story, the follow-up, would no longer work. I know what you’re...
Seventy Years and Counting
While I was preparing for my talk at the Bowers Museum on the Nazi confiscation of art and my book, Deadly Provenance, I came across the following link about a battle between a museum in Norway and a family demanding the museum return a Henri Matisse painting, said to...
Blogging Assistance Requested
A writer friend asked me this question: “Do you think the same people who read your blogs read your books?” Good question and I wish I had an answer. I can track readership of my blogs, specifically by social media links ie: Twitter, Facebook, Linked-In, Google +. But...
Dialects Can Be Deadly
One of the major characters in my book, “Time Exposure” is Alexander Gardner, a famous, and real, Civil War photographer. Gardner hailed from Paisley, Scotland and arrived in Washington, D.C. in 1856 with a thick Scottish accent. How was I to handle dialogue? I...
Animals Are Characters Too
We just got a new puppy. Curly (named for obvious reasons) is a Labradoodle. Watching him pounce and play, crash and burn, made me recall this blog I did a few years back. I thought I would re-blog it this week. Hope you don’t mind. I admit it. I’m an animal...
The Hunt for a Missing Van Gogh
If you’ve read my blogs in the past, you know that research into my book, Deadly Provenance, about the Nazi confiscation of art and a missing Van Gogh painting led me on a hunt for the missing artwork. Along the way I crossed paths with many people in several...
The Language of History
Since my mysteries take place at different time periods in the past, one of my personal “research” assignments is to study the language of those times. The style of language is important, certainly, in the narrative, but, absolutely, in the dialogue. The flow and...
Know What You Write
Yes, the title is correct. Rather than “write what you know,” I believe you should know what you write. I’m a native New Yorker, transplanted to the West Coast. In my early writing classes I was told, “write what you know.” What the heck did that mean? I couldn’t...
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