Jun 264 min read
Write On: How to Keep the Words and Ideas Flowing
For writers, the creativity cycle is a real thing. Some days the words pour out of us and other days we have to fight for every one....
Apr 27, 20234 min read
Seeing the Forest for the Trees: How to Approach an Editorial Letter
You’ve sent your manuscript to an editor for a developmental review and have just received your editorial letter back. You’re staring at...
Jun 1, 20224 min read
Back to the ... Present: The potential pitfalls of using flashbacks
There you are, reading along in a novel about thirty-five-year-old Amanda, when all of a sudden the author sends you back in time to a...
Feb 15, 20224 min read
It's Not (Only) about You: Writing a memoir that unites the universal and the particular
I love memoirs. I love reading them, and I also love editing them. There is something about helping authors to tell their own stories in...
Jul 22, 20214 min read
Inside Out: Using internal and external conflict to create a compelling story
As writers, we often hear that conflict is what makes a story. A character wants something and they face obstacles to getting it, which...
Feb 15, 20214 min read
Write What You Know: You Don't Need to Be An Alien to Write Science Fiction
Writers are often given the advice to write what they know. But have you ever really thought about what this means? Clearly, we can’t...
Dec 3, 20204 min read
A Hot Mess: Why you shouldn’t expect your first draft to be a work of art
I am currently writing the first draft of my latest story. I call it a story and not a novel or a short story because, to be honest, I...
Feb 25, 20205 min read
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da: Writing Lessons from Songwriting
I love to write in a variety of formats, but one of my favorites is songwriting. I love the process, and I get really excited about the...
Jan 22, 20203 min read
Perfection versus Excellence: Why there might still be errors in your book after an edit
You’ve written a book and can’t wait to share it with readers. But you realize the importance of having another set of eyes on it, so you...
Dec 2, 20194 min read
Information Overload: Where to look for (and remove) info dumping in your novel
When you write a novel, there is a lot of information you have to give your readers. They need to learn about your characters, your...
