As we transition from sharing my novels to helping you write yours, I’m taking this moment to prepare for tomorrow’s first post under our new format. The Pencil’s Edge will now focus on practical guidance, professional insights, and encouragement for beginning novelists.
Tomorrow, we’ll explore what it means to start your writing journey, drawing from my experience of writing that first novel at age 60. Whether you have just an idea or a partially written manuscript, I look forward to sharing both the craft and courage needed to write your story.
Join me tomorrow as we begin this new chapter together. After all, every writer’s journey begins with a single mark on the page.
Author: Richard L. Fricks
Writer, observer, and student of presence. After decades as a CPA, attorney, and believer in inherited purpose, I now live a quieter life built around clarity, simplicity, and the freedom to begin again.
I write both nonfiction and fiction:
The Pencil-Driven Life, a memoir and daily practice of awareness, and the Boaz, Alabama novels—character-driven stories rooted in the complexities of ordinary life.
I live on seventy acres we call Oak Hollow, where my wife and I care for seven rescued dogs and build small, intentional spaces that reflect the same philosophy I write about. Oak Hollow Cabins is in the development stage (opening March 1, 2026), and is—now and always—a lived expression of presence: cabins, trails, and quiet places shaped by the land itself.
My background as a Fictionary Certified StoryCoach Editor still informs how I understand story, though I no longer offer coaching. Instead, I share reflections through The Pencil’s Edge and @thepencildrivenlife, exploring what it means to live lightly, honestly, and without a script.
Whether I’m writing, building, or walking the land, my work is rooted in one simple truth:
Life becomes clearer when we stop trying to control the story and start paying attention to the moment we’re in.
View all posts by Richard L. Fricks
The Pencil Driven Life 