"Those comments were pure gold. By giving me a critique that both affirmed what I was doing well and provided specific areas to improve, Sue not only helped me with my manuscript, but taught me how to teach. I went home and studied everything I could about dialogue..."

 Read the rest of my column remembering Sue Grafton by clicking here.

​NOTE: This originally ran as my Literary Life column for the Dayton Daily News on January 7, 2018.)

Yona Zeldis McDonough (www.yonazeldismcdonough.com) is the author of several novels, most recently Two of a Kind, which will be available September 3, 2013, as well as of A Wedding in Great Neck, Breaking the Bank, In Dahlia's Wake, and The Four Temperaments, as well as nineteen books for children. She is also the editor of two essay collections and is the Fiction Editor at Lilith magazine. Her award-winning short fiction, articles, and essays have been published in anthologies and in numerous national magazines and newspapers.

There are two ways I “cross train” as a writer.

Today's cross-training for writers guest post is by author Kristina McBride, author of One Moment and Tension of Opposites. Learn more about Kristina and her books at www.kristinamcbride.com   

Q. Have you (or do you) engage in another art or a sport that helps you as a writer--whether that's to give you a break, re-energize you, provide inspiration.   

A. Hanging out with my two children (ages 5 and 7) often feels like a sport. And an art...

Today's author guest post on 'Cross-Training for Writers' is by Marci Nault, whose debut novel, The Lake House (Gallery/ Simon & Schuster) was a Chicago Tribune, Cape May Herald, CBS, and Amazon Premier summer read pick. Originally from Massachusetts, today she can be found figure skating, salsa dancing, hiking and wine tasting around her home in California. Marci is the founder of 101 Dreams Come True, a motivational website that encourages visitors to follow their improbable dreams. Her story about attempting to complete 101 of her biggest dreams has been featured in newspapers and magazines nationwide, and she regularly speaks on the subject on radio stations in both the United States and Canada. She’s also the owner of www.Elegantbridaldesigns.com, a couture lingerie, dress, and jewelry store. To learn more go to www.marcinault.com or www.101dreamscometrue.com. 

"I have so much work, ideas are storming in my brain, so today I’m going to get up, walk to my desk, and begin work early. There’ll be no skating this morning because it takes up too much time and I don’t have the space for it."   These are the words I say when a deadline is looming, but more often than not, four hours later I’m staring at my computer, nothing has come out, and I’m realizing that I would’ve returned from figure skating already.

Today's "Cross-Training for Writers" is from mystery and nonfiction author Jeffrey Marks. (He also happens to be a good friend of mine!) His website: www.jeffreymarks.com 

Following, his thoughts on cross-training for writers:

Better late than never I suppose! As a way to offset the hours that I sit behind a computer writing, I decided that I needed some physical activity. Being someone who likes to multi-task, I decided to take up martial arts, thinking that perhaps in a future book I could have a character who knew the art of self-defense or perhaps like Sherlock Holmes take up the martial art of Bartitsu.

Carolyn Hart, much-beloved, award-winning author of 50 novels; the 50th, DEAD, WHITE AND BLUE (in her Death on Demand series) just came out in May. Her mysteries have won many awards, including the Agatha, and her standalone, LETTER FROM HOME, was a New York Times notable book. Learn more about this terrific novelist on herwebsite. 

Have you (or do you) engage in another art or a sport that helps you as a writer--whether that's to give you a break, re-energize you, provide inspiration?

Carolyn: "I used to jog and work out plot snarls, now I walk. Usually a leisurely walk will help me find the answer. At the moment, I am as stuck as a tethered camel in the middle of the desert. Today's walk didn't help. Maybe writing about it will be good karma."