Critique Groups

I’m in a online critique group with four other writers. We submit up to twenty pages to each other every two weeks and then meet on Zoom to discuss our comments. This is an excellent way to get feedback on a manuscript from fellow writers who are also discerning readers. When I started writing in 2001, I met with a fellow employee to discuss our manuscripts. Then I joined an in-person critique group of mystery writers and another critique group that met in my town. Along the way I also joined an online critique group. Then for a number of years I was not in any critique group. I’m glad to be back in a critique group because this is a way to improve my manuscripts and help others improve theirs.

Taking Care of Grand-cats

I’m currently feeding our daughter’s two cats. They come running when I get there, because they associate me with food. After they gobble their food, I give them a good scritch before leaving.

 

Men of Mystery

Last Saturday I participated in the Men of Mystery one-day mystery conference in Long Beach, CA. Along with the other authors, I gave a brief pitch about my two most recent mystery novels A Mystery Yarn and Murder in the Museo Kircheriano. I enjoyed seeing old friends and making new ones.

Fighter Pilot or Bomber Pilot

One over-simplified classification of how people act is to determine if they are like fighter pilots or bomber pilots. Bomber pilots are very single focused on their target. Fighter pilots are scanning the skies around them for threats and targets. Are you a fighter pilot or a bomber pilot?

The Adventures of Sure Luck Holmes

The electronic edition of my middle grade mystery, The Adventures of Sure Luck Holmes, can now be pre-ordered:

The Adventures of Sure Luck Holmes - Kindle edition by Befeler, Mike. Children Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

Fifth-grader Sherman Holmes and his sidekick Johanna Watson solve mysteries surrounding the Baker Street Elementary School in Londonberry, California. Nicknamed Sure Luck, Sherman always cracks the case, but invariably for the wrong reason that only Johanna catches, particularly when it involves Sherman’s nemesis, the school bully Jim Moriarty. Johanna also assists Sure Luck as he prepares for his second level private detective’s exam, involving both a written section and a surprise practical test that will require all of Sure Luck’s skill.

Different Writing Approaches During My Writing Career

I began writing in 2001 when I was 56 years old. At the time I was still working, so I adapted a technique from Julia Cameron’s book, The Artist Way, called morning pages. I would review where I had left off the day before and write three handwritten pages first thing every morning. When I got home from work, I’d transcribe these pages into my computer. This is how I wrote my first four published novels. Then when I retired in 2007, I wrote directly into the computer every morning that I wasn’t doing a family activity or book event. This resulted in completed manuscripts for approximately thirty books. Then in 2015 when we moved back to Southern California from Colorado, I shifted into another phase. Since then, I have written a few new manuscripts but have mainly focused on editing my portfolio of completed manuscripts and getting a number of them published.

Wordle

My wife enjoys Sudoku and crossword puzzles, but I like Wordle. The idea of one puzzle a day appeals to me. I look forward to the challenge every morning, but then I’m done with my puzzles for the day.