Monthly Archives: November 2009

REVIEW: Western Governor’s University

While it used to be that the University of Phoenix was rather unique, now there are many online universities where one can acquire a high-quality online degree without spending a fortune or setting aside one’s current professional life. One of the more recent such places to emerge is Western Governor’s University, a nonprofit online university …

November 30, 2009 – 4:26 AM | By Craig Hansen | Posted in Rants and asides | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Lots of sermons, not a lot of fiction

In the past couple weeks, despite my main PC being down for half that time, I have accomplished a lot of writing. I have all of two commentaries done and a third one nearly complete; then I have a couple sermons to write. It’s a lot of fun writing sermons, but I’m itching to get …

November 26, 2009 – 2:29 AM | By Craig Hansen | Posted in creativity | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Reminiscing forward

I don’t care to the idea of daydreaming now that I’m over 40, but I do like to think about things I hope to do one day, like making New Orleans hotel reservations to attend a mystery writer’s conference. Wouldn’t that be fun? I’ve been to Louisiana only once, but nowhere near New Orleans. But …

November 10, 2009 – 1:03 AM | By Craig Hansen | Posted in Rants and asides | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Slowing down as I write a couple sermons

It turns out I will be delivering two sermons… one of them twice… at the end of December and to be ready and more than ready, I’m starting to work on them now. Of course, this slows down progress on my novel, but not to a complete stop. It’s a challenge to write a novel …

November 10, 2009 – 12:59 AM | By Craig Hansen | Posted in writing | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Spelling counts

Some of the worst advice I’ve heard writers give aspiring writers is not to worry about spelling or grammar. Sure, once you’re a successful author, you can hire people to spiffy up your rumpled manuscript, but when you’re first trying to break into print, having a manuscript with sloppy spelling and gross grammar errors will …

November 2, 2009 – 4:01 PM | By Craig Hansen | Posted in writing | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Figuring it out … backwards

After my interview with Charlaine Harris, I found out that there’s another way to write mysteries effectively. I always assumed the author would figure out an intricate plot first, and then start writing. But that’s not necessarily always the case. In my interview with her, Harris revealed that while she has an idea of where …

November 2, 2009 – 3:55 PM | By Craig Hansen | Posted in writing | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Adding depth

Instead of moving forward in the narrative, I recently spent a couple days adding information to my prologue. It was still new material, not a rewrite; but one of my most-trusted first readers is my wife, who is a huge fan of the types of books I happen to be writing right now. Her advice …

November 2, 2009 – 4:57 AM | By Craig Hansen | Posted in writing | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Finally making progress again

I’m finally making progress again on my mystery novel, thanks in no small part to having a lighter load on Torah commentaries. I’m writing new pages of copy several times a week. That’s progress, and I’m thankful for it. I’m glad it happened before I needed to start searching for the best wrinkle cream out …

November 2, 2009 – 4:53 AM | By Craig Hansen | Posted in late night writing | Tagged , | Comments (0)