Social media started off so innocently, as a way to connect with friends and family and like-minded individuals. There was Friendster, then Myspace, then Facebook (which now has over 3 billion users). Along came Twitter (now X, with about 600 million monthly active users). There’s Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, TikTok. There’s even a YouTube-Twitter-Facebook spinoff exclusively for politicians called YouTwitFace.

What is your view of social media today? Do you use it, avoid it, or something in between?

Andy Rooney

”My advice is not to wait to be struck by an idea. If you’re a writer, you sit down and damn well decide to have an idea. That’s the way to get an idea.”
—Andy Rooney

Where do you get your ideas? How do you decide what idea to develop into a book?

Since it’s Valentine’s Day tomorrow, tell us what your favorite love story is, book or movie (or both). It can be a romance or have a romantic subplot. Mine:

Movie: It Happened One Night.

Book: Rebecca.

Here’s an oldie from TKZ emerita Jordan Dane:

JSB’s favorite short story collection

Answer any one or all:

1.) What’s your favorite way to select a character’s name? (Do you have any favorite GO TO resource links?)

2.) Do you care about name origins or meanings?

3.) How do you select names for a character with different ethnic backgrounds?

“I wake early and hear my morning voices leaping around in my head like jumping beans. I get out of bed quickly, to trap them before they escape.” — Ray Bradbury

Are you a morning person/writer? How do you start your motor? What’s your favorite brew?

What novel have you read more than once, and why?

What did it teach you?

What movie scared the daylights out of you as a kid?

Or even older?

Would you go to a scary movie today?

Do you find it hard to part with your printed books? (I do, even though shelf space is at a premium!)

How much do you read on an e-reader these days?

Do you read on your phone?

Overall, do you read more or less than you used to?