Deborah Cooke: Author

Category: Writing

  • Flashbacks

    There was some talk on my chapter loop yesterday about flashbacks and I thought I’d share my comments with you here. Flashbacks are one of those storytelling devices that don’t get a lot of respect. There are many writing instructors who state that flashbacks – like prologues, another much-maligned device, or dreams – should never…

  • The Pilgrimage Analogy

    I have talked in the past about the perils of critique groups, and dipped my toe into the topic again yesterday. Let’s talk a little bit more about critiquing and why it worries me. And then we’ll have an analogy, just for fun. I don’t have an aversion to critiquing, per se. We all have…

  • Perfume

    I think we’re due for an analogy around here – maybe even past due – so here we go. Many of you are aspiring writers, and many of you – as aspiring romance writers – belong to a writers’ group like RWA. Those writing groups tend to meet regularly, either formally or casually, and one…

  • The Other Stuff

    One of the things that I often seem to discuss with new authors – or authors who have just made their first sale – is their productivity. That’s how much they write per day, per week, per year, and it’s important because deadlines are always set by the author. So, the author needs to know…

  • Silver Linings

    Good things can still happen in tough times, and we’ll talk about one of them today. The book market had been going through a lot of changes in the last six or seven years, and although that creates challenges for everyone in publishing, one of the nifty things that has been happening is that authors’…