WILLIAM ARTHUR HOLMES (contact me here)

Thoughts On Writing

Louis L'Amour once said he could write while sitting in the middle of the freeway. That didn't impress me at the time, but now it does.Not one, but two dogs threw up behind me as I wrote. Was that a commentary on my writing? Wouldn't be the first t... read more

Elements Of A Story

What are the main ELEMENTS OF A STORY? Setting; Character; Plot; Conflict; Theme; Point-of-view; Tone; Style; Read the rest here: Elem... read more

Thanksgiving Week Trip To The Gulf Coast

Just getting the rental car (minivan) in the first place was a bit of an adventure. Because we were leaving Monday morning, we wanted to pick it up Sunday night, but all local E... read more

Good Article About Storytelling

"Pop culture today is obsessed with the battle between good and evil. Traditional folktales never were. What changed?" Go to the-g... read more

Best And Worst Self-Publishing Sites

Good site showing who to trust (or not) when it comes to self-publishing: self-publishing-service-reviews... read more

Ingredients Of A Novel

VARIOUS WRITERS' RULESWrite a draft. Then let it rest. -- Stephen King;Read a lot. -- King;Never use a long word when a short one will do. -- George Orwell;Never use the passive voice when you can use the active voice. -- Orwell;... read more

From Hill To Valley, A Long-Winded Postcard From The Road

The drive from Spring Hill, Tennessee to Valley, Alabama was uneventful... until we were almost there. So close. That's a fairly generic name for a town, though, isn't it? Valley. It's like finding a good spot for a town, planting your flag, and nam... read more

Trump candidacy

Donald Trump's candidacy reminds me of my novel Lottery President (Kindle/... read more

Random Book Reviews

From Lionel, January 2013: I just finished reading ... read more

Recently-Discovered Book Repository

Hathi Trust Digital Library: hathitrust.org... read more

Started A New Story Today

I started writing a new story today. Can't say much about it except that it's pretty much sci-fi, though it might wander into religion and politics. So, yeah, it should offend just about everyone. Then I took a break and started cleaning. Did a load... read more

Freewrite, The Device For Distraction-Free Writing

Article about it here, and the manufacturer's website here. And one of their founders has an ... read more

Advice For Writing

A writer's narrative perspective (their "voice," or, how they come across to their reader) must be: This is me talking to you. That's it. Nothing more, nothing less. It's not: This is me 100 years ago speaking in a "classical" voice. It's no... read more

Respect

So much about writing novels, I've found, comes down to respect. Respect for the reader and their precious time. Respect for the authenticity and believability of the characters I'm creating. And most importantly, respect for reality; asking myself... read more

Writing, explained

No, not by me.Here's a very useful website.... read more

A Day At The Races

[from 1994]The first Saturday in May. What does this date mean to you? Probably nothing, except that Spring has finally arrived, unless you live in California where it's been Spring already for two months or more - real Spring, not calen... read more

Cracking Up Over Lottery President

Here's one of my brothers reading my book, Lottery President. He seems to be enjoying it. I swear I didn't pay him to do this. ... read more

Writers Need Followers?

Publishers and writing "gurus" preach that writers need followers. The problem is that emotionally-stable people don't want followers, they want friends, compatriots, people who listen, not followers. Especially zombie follow... read more

New Rules For Writers

Anis Shivani: New Rules For Writers: Ignore Publicity, Shun Crowds, Refuse Recognition And More."These "rules" totally go against ... read more

More Advice For Writers

People read fiction seeking clarity. One of the worst things a writer can do is to create confusion. I'm referring to the payoff at the end of the book. People also read fiction for something better than reality, or at least better than their own. S... read more

Operation Detour selling like hotcakes!

We've sold two (2) three (3) in the past three (3) months!Get your copy at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D9YCZPC while supplies last!... read more

Best Thrillers Of All-Time

According to the Telegraph, anyway. An interesting list. Several if not most of these were that author's f... read more

Let the story tell the story

A bit of advice to myself (and any other writers out there): Once you've laid the groundwork of your story, come up with the main characters, basic premise, and rough outline, at some point you have to just let the story itself tell the story.... read more

Writers

Writers are often those who would otherwise be left out of the conversation. The only way they can get a word in is to write it down.... read more

Best Fiction Of 2019

"... read more

The Faded Page

"Free eBooks forever. FP now includes 6312 eBooks in its collection." Books in the public domain. Read the rest here fadedpage.com... read more

How Does Writing Affect Your Brain?

How Does Writing Affect Your Brain? [infographic]. Interesting ... to me, anyway. "Most of us write a little... read more

Screenplay Submitted

I submitted a screenplay to Scriptapalooza today. See scriptapalooza.com. The first deadline is Friday the 5th. The real deadline is April 15. I think first prize is $10,000, but ... read more