One of the biggest steps for me as a writer was the first time I looked at a piece of writing advice from a mentor, someone I trusted and knew had my best interest at heart, and responded with: “That advice doesn’t work for me.” Writing advice is everywhere. You can’t turn a corner without… Read more »
Maybe you received a new journal as a gift this holiday season. Or maybe you bought one during a late night online pandemic induced session of retail therapy. Either way, now it sits. Like those unread books on our shelves, you eye one another warily as you walk by it. You’re overwhelmed by its blank… Read more »
Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Brad Fox. Brad is a novelist, journalist, translator, and former relief worker currently quarantined in rural Peru. His novel To Remain Nameless was a Paris Review staff pick, an SPD recommended new fiction title, has been a small press bestseller since its release. It was named by Dennis… Read more »
Parts I and II of this article deals with ideas for writing a plot twist, big and small. Part III will take you through the mechanics, the nuts and bolts of making it happen. No matter your romance subgenre of choice, adding a twist or ten is a sure-fire way to keep your story out… Read more »
Thank [insert deity here] 2020 is almost over! When we look back on everything that shaped our world this year, it’s difficult to boil it down to just a few words. But that’s exactly what Oxford Languages does every year. Their Word of the Year is awarded to a term they deem has “lasting potential… Read more »
Call them what you will. Nonwriters, Muggles, Philistines. Just kidding. We know them. We love them. They’re our parents, our friends, our partners and significant others. They’re the people in our lives with whom we share everything. But sometimes we aren’t always sure how to share this one thing with nonwriters. You know, one of… Read more »
With all the chaos of 2020, I have a hunch that for many of us, this holiday season will be far from “normal.” Whether your gatherings are in person or virtual, the important thing is to surround yourself with awesome people. Jim Rohn said “You are the average of the five people we spend the… Read more »
Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Marcella Pixley, the author of four acclaimed books for young people. Her novel Freak was a Kirkus Best Book of the Year for 2007, Without Tess was a Junior Library Guild Selection, and Ready to Fall was a Bank Street of Education Best Book for 2017. Her most… Read more »
A boarding school furnishes the perfect setting for a mystery/thriller. They provide the claustrophobia of the locked room mystery and are often in an isolated location. They also have a long history of teenagers and their combustible emotions, which gives the perfect opportunity to incorporate the supernatural (sometimes explained away, sometimes literally supernatural). My favorites… Read more »
Have you ever read a scene and felt like it didn’t go anywhere, or didn’t have a purpose? Do you struggle to write scenes that develop characters? On a scene-by-scene basis, do your characters experience external and internal changes? Do you do in depth scene analysis? Whether or not published in a book or jotted… Read more »
