This is the first installment in a new post series I’m trying out. Every-other Thursday I’ll be sharing a “Dear Word Nerd” letter that first appeared in the DIY MFA newsletter. If you’re already an email subscriber, you can help me select the letters that get featured here by replying to the emails you loved most. If you’re not on… Read more »
Congratulations! You made it! Your first book is published! And now…you get to write another one! But you’re also marketing Book One and possibly even doing school or book club visits, even if you’re an introvert! (Watch for the marketing-for-introverts post coming May 27!) So how do you manage to juggle it all? Here are… Read more »
I used to talk about writing a lot. I’d get all dreamy and imagine my future career as a world-famous novelist. But it was always a hazy dream, filmed through Vaseline so you couldn’t see the harder realities of it: the actual work. It was “someday.” But I wasn’t doing anything to make it happen…. Read more »
There’s nothing better than getting lost in the world of a book, swept up not just in the story but the rich setting, a place so real you could imagine yourself there. Whether it’s an actual time and place in history, the far distant future, a modern city or a completely imagined fantasy world, a setting… Read more »
Life has ups and downs, and often our writing path follows them. When I was pregnant with my son, I had a horrible first trimester. I was sick, tired, and depressed for what felt like every minute of the day. My writing suffered. I stopped working on my novel; I didn’t blog for two months…. Read more »
Symbolism is a tricky element for writers to master. Its ability to represent ideas and qualities requires deeper thought than other literary elements do. But when symbolism is used effectively, it can make a story even more powerful and unforgettable. Plus, its purpose can serve as another way of nurturing literary themes. Today, we’ll look… Read more »
Every career has specific traits that only others in the same profession can relate to, like my husband, who is a service technician in the Tel-com industry. When he’s around other techs, they speak in code, T-1, PRI, and VoIP. When we’re in public he tells me the phone system each business uses, “That’s a… Read more »
Like many writers, I got the idea for my book, A Keeper’s Truth, in a dream, that four am buzz that had me giddy, watching the scene play out in excruciating detail, the characters as real as life, voices clear and strong in my head. Jotting the scene on paper wasn’t a conscious choice, but a necessity…. Read more »
My very first novel got published this month. I have to be honest, typing out that sentence is still really weird. Like when you get married and have to learn to start saying “my husband.” While the weight of this accomplishment is still sinking in, it’s been an incredible learning experience, from the big spark of… Read more »
Sometimes I wish I were Stephen King. Not because of his best-seller, best-beloved author status, or because he can write full time while most of us need day jobs. (Although all of those things would be nice.) It’s because back when he was getting rejection letters, it was the 1970s. He got so many that… Read more »
