CHERIE CLAIRE

Keep self-doubt at bay! “Harry Potter” was rejected by 12 publishing houses before it found a home. Author J.K. Rowling is now richer than the Queen of England. "Lord of the Flies" was rejected 20 times. "Gone With the Wind" 38 times. "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank 15 times. Our beloved "Anne of Green Gables" four times. Stephen King's "Carrie" was rejected 30 times before being bought, then immediately sold into a movie. You can read more about that incredible sto

My office overlooks a bird feeder and I cherish watching my birds fly in to enjoy the treats I leave for them. In the winter, the goldfinches arrive in mass. In the summer, baby cardinals are fed by their moms. It's a joy I treasure. And then there's those dang squirrels. I bang on the window, I yell at them, I threaten to put them in a gumbo (you know I really won't) but to no avail. I swear sometimes they turn and give me the bird, pun intended, then continue eating everyth

Do you ever wonder where writers come up with names? I like to choose names with meaning. In my current Viola Valentine mystery series, I chose Viola’s name from Shakespeare's “Twelfth Night.” In this comedy of errors, Shakespeare's Viola survives a shipwreck and lands on a strange shore longing to locate her twin brother, Sebastian. She dons man’s clothing because a woman isn’t safe traveling through unknown countries and falls in love with a man who’s in love with a woman w

My favorite part of writing is creating great characters, giving them unusual, quirky and fun traits. Using regional dialects. Making them do interesting things. How many times have you read a story and felt like you lost a friend at its conclusion? Those are great characters! Here are some examples I've found of wonderful fictional character descriptions. “He leaned across the table, his massive face compressing his neck into a series of ripples that fell in a mudslide into

“Not that the story need be long, but it will take a long while to make it short.” — Henry David Thoreau “So the writer who breeds more words than he needs, is making a chore for the reader who reads.” — Dr. Seuss Half the work of writing is cleaning the manuscript afterwards. Writers tend to write long and use way too many words (I could have omitted "way" right there, as an example). So once you hit the lovely "The End," your job is not done. It's time to put on the editor