Musings of a Sparrow….
My thoughts about God, writing, and life in general….
Subscribe to My Newsletter
The best way you can help me out is to subscribe to my newsletter. You will receive exclusive access to the Prologue of my novel Filling the Cracks, as well as news and updates
Your privacy matters. Please see my privacy policy in the menu bar at the top of the page.
The Five Elements of a Story
We read them all the time or watch them on TV: Stories. But what elements make up a good story, be it a short story, novella, novel, play, or screenplay? What major components make up a story and hold it together?
My Struggle to Choose a Path
As a rule, I write posts that are less personal and more focused on a specific topic related to writing or publishing. I planned to post something else this week, but that didn’t pan out. Instead, I’ve decided to open up a little about my current struggle with deciding what my future career path or paths should be. Bear with me as I get a little personal….
Three Things I Wish I’d Known Before I Queried Literary Agents
It’s been quite the learning curve for me since I decided to take my writing to a higher level in April 2023 and began querying literary agents for the first manuscript of my Ashes trilogy. I did no research and very little casual reading about what was required to query an agent properly, so I made many mistakes—more than three. But in today’s post, I will present the three most important things I wish I’d known before sending query letters to agents in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom….
8 Great TV Shows and Movies in the Romantic Thriller Genre
I love several TV shows and movies that fall within the above definition of a “romantic thriller.” In this post, I will list my favorite TV shows and movies within this designation….
Reading List for January/February 2024
St. Bernard of Clairvaux is often credited with coining the phrase, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” I had excellent intentions when I created my reading list for October and November of 2023. Unfortunately, life intervened, and I read only one-third of one of the books I listed. I hope you had greater discipline and success than I did. So, I have amended that list and will try again to read the books on my new list over January and February of 2024….
Setting SMART Goals for 2024
In preparation for the new year, I am making several SMART goals professionally as a writer and personally. If you’re unfamiliar with what a SMART goal is, I’ll briefly describe what they are….
What is the Love Genre?
Over the past few weeks, we have explored genres and described the two external content genres I tend to write the most: the Thriller Genre and the Love Genre. Last week, we explored the Thriller Genre. This week, the focus will be on the Love Genre, also known as the Romance Genre….
What is the Thriller Genre?
Last week, I described the two genres I primarily write in and why. They were the Thriller genre and the Love (romance) genre. In today’s post, we will explore what the Thriller genre is about in greater detail….
The Genres I Prefer to Write Within and Why
For the past few weeks, we’ve explored Literary and Commercial Fiction and the content genres typically found under the category of Commercial Fiction. This was to lay a foundation for today’s post, where I describe the content genres I prefer to write in (and read) and why that’s the case….
Content Genres of Commercial Fiction
In my last post, I compared literary and commercial fiction and detailed their differences, giving examples of novels that fall into either category. This week, I will focus on commercial fiction and the categories or content genres of books that fall under this category….
What is the Difference Between Literary and Commercial Fiction?
Knowing the difference between literary and commercial fiction is important for an author, whether they are planning to be traditionally published or self-published. An author needs to know how to describe their book to literary agents and publishers and how to market it to readers.
What is Genre?
Yesterday, I realized what genre is and why it’s important to understand genre as a writer. Well, perhaps not quite, but close. It wasn’t until recently that I investigated the meaning of the word genre and its significance, and it has radically changed the way I approach literature both as a writer and a reader….
The Obligatory Scenes of the Horror Genre
This week, we will look at the obligatory scenes of a horror story, once again using Alfred Hitchcock’s classic movie, Psycho, as our example for these scenes….
The Conventions of the Horror Genre.
It’s Halloween again, and in the spirit of the season, we will look at the spookiest of all literary genres: Horror….
5 Steps to Building an Author’s Platform—My Journey So Far.
Any writer who wants to market and sell their books (or even be looked at by most literary agents) must build and maintain a solid author platform….
8 Suggestions for Incorporating Elements of Real Life in Your Fiction
Even when I try not to incorporate real-life elements or stories in my fiction, I've found that it ends up happening anyway. The reason for this is simple: as writers, we naturally draw upon our personal experiences and emotions in creating characters and plots. How could we not? That’s where a great amount of inspiration comes from….
How I Find Inspiration for Writing: Where I Go and What I Do
I’m always impressed with established authors who come out with a new book every year, some more than once a year. Where do they get their fantastic ideas for their novels? It’s always essential to have fresh ideas to write about….
Novel: Filling the Cracks—Chapter Ten
Virgie’s hugs and concern for Beth ended at the same time as Constable Kitchener left the house and drove away in the patrol car with Hughes….
Reading List for October/November 2023
I intend to finish Romancing the Beat this fall as well as read, at minimum, the following books….