Tag Archive for: #writinglife

The Whack-a-Mole Method of Writing

/in , , /by

By Lois Winston

Every author has her own process. What works for one of us doesn’t work for all of us. Some authors are diehard plotters who create extensive outlines before ever committing that first sentence to paper (or in most cases, to keyboard.) Some are known as “pantsers,” authors who write by the seat of their pants, having no more than a vague idea before they place butt in chair and begin pounding out the words.

Some authors set a deadline for each day, whether it’s the amount of time they’ll spend writing or the number of words they’ll write each day. I’ve read about some bestselling, household names who often stop mid-sentence when they reach their day’s word count, or the timer goes off. Other authors will keep writing each day until either their fingers cramp up, their eyes start watering, or their family demands dinner. Often all three.

I’m none of the above. I’m a hybrid—half “pantser” and half whack-a-mole writer. I write in fits and starts. I suppose you could call it the bipolar method of writing. I’m not bipolar, but my writing method certainly is.

The “pantser” part of me comes up with a vague idea for a story. I’ll jot a few sentences or maybe a paragraph or two, which often becomes the basis for back cover copy. But then I give my muse free rein. And that’s where the whack-a-mole writing comes in. Sometimes my muse is extremely cooperative, and my fingers fly across the keyboard for days and days. My word count grows at a frenetic pace. Then, for no apparent reason, the muse deserts me, and I reach a part in the story where I can’t figure out what comes next.

I wrack my brain. I lie awake at night, brainstorming with myself. One night becomes two, then three, then a week. I’m exhausted from lack of sleep, which only makes the situation worse. I spend hours at a time staring at a blinking cursor, waiting for my brain to send a signal to my fingers. I wait and wait and wait.

I check in with my critique partner who offers various suggestions, some with possibilities but none that feel exactly right. I go back and read what I’ve previously written, hoping inspiration will strike, but all I do is wind up tweaking here and there, choosing a more descriptive word, rearranging the sentences in a paragraph. Wasting time.

And then suddenly, my muse returns with a fully formed idea for what happens next. Once again, my fingers fly across the keyboard, my word count soaring.

Until the next time when the pattern repeats itself. Wack-a-mole writing. Love it or hate it, it’s my process, and I’m stuck with it.

~*~

USA Today and Amazon bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books, and nonfiction under her own name and her Emma Carlyle pen name. Kirkus Reviews dubbed her critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” In addition, Lois is a former literary agent and an award-winning craft and needlework designer who often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts industry. Learn more about Lois and her books at her website www.loiswinston.com where you can also sign up for her newsletter and follow her on various social media sites.

Road Research

/in /by

By Barbara J. Eikmeier

My favorite place to find details for a story is on a road trip.

My regular job is presenting programs about quilts to small and regional quilt guilds. Bookings take me off the main highways to “Blue Roads”, through tiny communities and sometimes even down dirt roads. Ninety percent of the time I travel alone.

Once my GPS is set for my destination and snacks and water bottle are within easy reach, there is one last item to put in place before hitting the road – my notebook.

Over the years I have filled great piles of these notebooks with lecture notes, story starters, to-do lists, quilt patterns, rough drafts and travel notes. I don’t journal daily, although I admire those of you who do. I just make notes. My notebooks are sloppy. I seldom keep the script on the line but if I’m striving to hit the line, I prefer wide-rule over college rule so I have plenty of space for the letters that loop below the line. I really love letters that loop below the line. I have a memory from kindergarten of writing my name in the proper upper right hand corner of the paper. I started with a B and ended with an A but in between I used all sorts of letters – especially g and j because they looped below the line. My teacher didn’t think I knew how to write my name. I did. It’s just that it was so long and only used three letters repeated over and over, yet there were so many fantastic letters to choose from on the ABC chart that wrapped around the classroom. As an adult I opted for Barbara J. Eikmeier as my legal name because with all those letters in my long name, only my middle initial loops below the line!

When heading out on a trip, my notebook, wide rule or college rule, it doesn’t matter because I won’t be using the lines, is positioned on the passenger seat. As I drive I notice landmarks, brown sign historical markers, the names of rivers and creeks: Bee Creek, Wolf Creek, The Mississippi River!

Keeping my eyes on the road, I write without looking: Kalona Creamery, MO mile marker 48 – look up round barn.

My notes include clever place names that I can use in my stories: The name a of a beauty shop in western Kansas became the name of the diner in my current novel.

When I stop to rest or get fuel I take my notebook inside with me. I’ve sat in McDonald’s, Subway restaurants and  truck stops making notes about the man with snow white hair cut as if a bowl had been place on his head, the young kid behind the counter who was overly friendly – acting as if I liked him enough I might take him with me, and the trucker with the huge tattoos up and down his muscular arms that spelled out PUGSLEY in great Gothic lettering. What does Pugsley mean? It doesn’t matter – I can make something up as long as I have a note to jog my memory.

I record snippets of conversations, especially local dialects and topics like the old guys discussing the price of beans over coffee and a breakfast burrito at their local gas station where three cafe tables line the wall along the windows – the only breakfast eatery for miles. And I’m a huge fan of local bulletin boards with notifications of missing pets or persons, items for sale, local fundraisers, estate sales and funeral announcements. A writer can extract a lot of interesting details from a bulletin board in a gas station!

Periodically I will skim through a notebook or two and re-write or type an entry. I usually remember what I’ve written about, (and where it was and when) when re-reading my scribbling that either runs sideways in bold print, or neat script with lovely loopy letters. A psychologist in a writing class once said it was a hand/brain correlation that helps us remember things we’ve written.

The back to school supplies are dwindling. Soon the notebooks, folders and 12 packs of #2 pencils will be relegated to the office supply aisle until next year. It’s my reminder to stock up on another stack of spiral bound notebooks.

How do you keep track of tidbits you notice on a road trip? Do you also love spiral bound notebooks?

Barbara J. Eikmeier is a quilter, writer, student of quilt history, and lover of small-town America. Raised on a dairy farm in California, she enjoys placing her characters in rural communities.

Twins and Other Things That Are Born

/in /by

 I woke this morning with no clue it was Thursday, much less the third Thursday of the month. 

Oops. 

Covid-brain, you ask? 


Well, the days have certainly run together this year/decade/eternity of a pandemic. But it’s simpler–and tougher–than that. Backing up a moment, my daughter and her husband had twins in December. Talk about a Christmas surprise! Twins don’t “run” in either family, so R & E were a (delightful) shock and were quickly labeled Double Trouble. 

(Not my grandchildren, but aren’t they cute? =>) 


For the past three months, writing has been especially sporadic, since we’re spending our days tending babies. At first, it was simply they needed more hands. (How on earth did moms do this in the 50s when they were expected to handle all domestic chores alone???) Now, they have to work and even after a year on the waiting list, their day care doesn’t start until July. Yikes!

While I’m the first to say, you have kids when you’re young for a reason, it’s been interesting (the only all encompassing word I can come up with on one cup of coffee) to see all the ways things have changed. Part of me laughs about it, the rest says, seriously, I’m not that old a dinosaur. Of course, snuggling babies and the eternal maternal rock are the same, but now there’s probably an app for everything else. Seriously, there are lactation coaches, sleep assistants on call (but not at 2 AM when you need them), heated cleansing cloths, and an app to track every soiled diaper – including the relevant degree and color of the poop. 

I wouldn’t miss this time with my grandchildren. R is a charmer who already knows how to use her engaging smile and bright eyes to entice you to pick her up and play. E – aka Little Man – is more serious, loves jazz as much as I do, and puts much more effort into capturing fingers and toys with his lovely long fingers. (Yes, I’m getting him a keyboard as soon as he can sit up.) 

I promised both my daughters I’d never post pictures of their children on social media, a decision I whole-heartedly support. But the coos from the other room says it’s time to load up the stroller and head out. 

An award-winning author of financial mysteries, Cathy Perkins writes twisting dark suspense and light amateur sleuth stories.  When not writing, she battles with the beavers over the pond height or heads out on another travel adventure. She lives in Washington with her husband, children, several dogs and the resident deer herd.  Visit her at http://cperkinswrites.com or on Facebook 

Sign up for her new release announcement newsletter in either place.

She’s hard at work on Peril in the Pony Ring, the sequel to The Body in the Beaver Pond, releasing May 2021!) which was recently presented with the Killer Nashville’s Claymore Award.