I wrote GROWING GREAT CHARACTERS in 2007, but ever since then, I often revisit the idea about defining details: an itty, bitty, teensy, tiny detail that explains how a character rolls. One of my favorite characters is Alexandra Fuller, who wrote this memoir about her youth in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Her defining detail? That photo! Like a little pirate girl. “Take no prisoners, arrr!” Check out this excerpt. It's hilarious and exactly matches her photo. Who’s your favorite c

I joined the California Writers Club eons ago when I first moved to the state. I’m still involved years later because what an impressive organization! According to the Website history: The informal gatherings of Jack London, poet George Sterling and short story writer Herman Whitaker, among others, eventually formed the Press Club of Alameda. In 1909, a faction of the membership split off to form the California Writers Club with Austin Lewis, an English civil libertarian, as