by Pamela Beason | Oct 1, 2012 | Musings, Natural Wonders
September 29 was National Public Lands Day in the U.S. You probably missed it, like millions of other Americans–it’s not promoted as a national holiday to celebrate. But it should be. We are unique among nations in that our government had the foresight to...
by Pamela Beason | Aug 27, 2012 | Natural Wonders
My novel BEAR BAIT, the second in my Summer Westin mystery series, will be out October 2, so recently I’ve felt the need to revisit Olympic National Park and the surrounding national forests, which I used as the setting for that story. Olympic National Park, one...
by Pamela Beason | Aug 7, 2012 | #WriteTip, The Writing Life
Here’s the simple plan: Take any idea and then turn it upside down and shake it inside out. Try these two exercises and you’ll be off and running with new ideas of how to create conflict in your stories. Exercise 1: Write down the the best thing that you’d like to...
by Pamela Beason | Jul 24, 2012 | Everyday Chaos, The Writing Life
I think all of us have had the same feeling at one time or another; that instant in which we say “How the heck did I end up here?” I feel like I may have had more of those moments than most, but that may be only my perception. Or maybe it’s due to my...
by Pamela Beason | Jul 1, 2012 | Everyday Chaos
Sooner or later, everyone who knows me learns that I am not a cook. I am so glad that others actually enjoy cooking, because in my experience, it can be a pretty dangerous undertaking. It’s not that I can’t cook, it’s just that I find the process so...
by Pamela Beason | Jun 16, 2012 | #WriteTip, The Writing Life
Every novel has a plot, which is the story line (what happens). But most good novels also have a theme, which is the underlying message the writer wants the readers to understand. Most authors include themes naturally in their writing, but it’s important to...
by Pamela Beason | Jun 6, 2012 | Natural Wonders, The Writing Life
When I was a teenager, I bought my horse Comanche, and I then spent a lot of the next two years exploring the Oklahoma countryside on horseback with my friend Kristy and her horse. The times I spent outdoors with Comanche are some of my fondest memories of childhood,...
by Pamela Beason | Apr 23, 2012 | The Writing Life
I recently did a talk about my experiences as a “hybrid” author, so I decided to include the first part of that talk here. I am traveling down both traditional and indie publishing roads simultaneously. I have a contract for three mysteries with Berkley...
by Pamela Beason | Apr 10, 2012 | Natural Wonders, The Writing Life
When I took a creative writing class in high school, our instructor gave us an assignment to choose a natural object like a stone or a stick or a leaf for a “friend” and carry it around with us for a week and talk about what it told us. The other students...
by Pamela Beason | Mar 25, 2012 | Everyday Chaos, Natural Wonders
I love the unexpected, don’t you? Celebrating unusual experiences is part of being a writer. I’ve had a number of unexpected encounters with humans and other animals over the years. Once I was standing at a bus stop in Seattle, along with a number of other...
