Dear Editor, I am revising my first novel, which is also the first novel in a speculative historical fiction trilogy. It has been a great joy, and I’m working on book two, so I feel pretty confident that I want to move this thing forward and that it’s worth the effort of revising. I’m having… Read more »
Okay, readers, today (and the next fourteen articles) I’m going to try something different. If you’ve read my articles before, you might remember one about outlining. In it, I mention James Scott Bell’s (JSB) idea on signposting scenes, which fuses the processes of outliners and non-outliners together—genius! Well, I’ve got even greater news. While reading… Read more »
So, you’ve written a novel. You’ve put in the time and effort. The many years. Sweat, and certainly tears. But, what now? How do you turn that mess of words into a workable story that people actually want to read? Not that I’m saying the work you’ve slaved over is a mess, but to paraphrase… Read more »
Hey there word nerds! Today I am delighted to have Rodrigo Hasbún on the show! Rodrigo is a Bolivian novelist whose work has appeared in many top literary magazines such as Granta and Words Without Borders. In 2007, he was selected by the Hay Festival as one of the best Latin American writers under the… Read more »
“We are all apprentices in a craft where no one becomes a master.”—Ernest Hemingway Writers are, by nature, dreamers. We dream about finishing a book. Then we dream about getting an agent. A book deal. Hitting the New York Times list. On and on and on. But here’s the thing: each one of these dreams,… Read more »
As indie, small press, or otherwise “emerging” authors, we are told a lot how important it is to have an email list. It’s even a foundational piece of our DIY MFA Pixels to Platform course. It’s a core principle of platforming I hammer home for my coaching clients, too, in early sessions, and I emphasize… Read more »
Inspiration is more than reading between lines. Inspiration is about carefully dissecting lines and considering all potentialities falling between them. It is about deep considerations, personal cares and frustrations, and snippets of words watered and grown like weeds. Inspiration is what lies beneath what is most obvious. It is a spark, a flicker, and a… Read more »
Hey there word nerds! Today I am delighted to have Dr. Eucabeth Odhiambo on the show! Eucabeth was born in Kenya and her gorgeous middle grade debut novel, Auma’s Long Run,is inspired by her memories growing up there as well as her own work experiences with children and educators affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa. … Read more »
Rigor. That’s a word we rarely hear. It usually lumbers into conversation alongside something dreaded, like death or school work. As soon as it shows up, people leave with vague promises to catch up later. Yet, it’s the very thing writers need to hear. Every successful writing life depends on it. The Rigorous Road Everybody’s… Read more »
Hello, everyone! I hope you enjoyed the trio of “Be Well, Write Well” interviews from Julie Maloney, Carol Van Den Hende, and Karen Kaufman Orloff. I learned a lot from studying their habits and schedules. Schedules and commitments are at the forefront of my mind these days, as I recently did an interview on the… Read more »
