I did it! After two years—an ignominious record for me—I finally, finally, finally finished my latest manuscript. It was a challenge for so many reasons (end of a series, start of a new series, the pandemic, my adult kids coming and going for months at a time, elections, my husband working from home, me getting
When I was a manufacturing engineer, I spent my first six months working in the fab—fabrication plant—learning how the line worked, and how to operate the tools that processed semiconductor chips in the 24/7/365 factory. Because even the smallest amount of contamination can ruin a batch of wafers in process—a very expensive proposition—everyone on the
How many ways can you think of to express your character’s anxiety? His happiness? Her anger? Does your antagonist always look behind him? Does your hero clench his fists every time? Does your heroine’s mouth flatten over and over? A traditional thesaurus may not help when you want to describe the actions and reactions of