Harry S. Truman said, “Leaders are readers.” I don’t consider myself a leader; not really. I’ve always considered myself a follower. But the Lord has been hammering it into my big skull lately that leaders are just ordinary people with a little bit of influence. If you write, and anybody—I mean, anybody, even if it’s… Read more »
What is a reader thinking when he or she reads your work? We all experience an inner dialogue about the world around us. During reading it’s the same: consuming words wakes up the voices in our heads. What we really want is for our readers to be asking the right questions. Things like ‘what happens next?’… Read more »
My writing habits tend to follow a feast or famine pattern. Trapped behind an invisible dam, my words dry up for days. When a gush of creativity bursts forth, I’m graced with thousands of words pouring from my fingertips with ease. I crank out several pitches and surf high on a wave of productivity and… Read more »
Camaraderie. Feedback. The opportunity to vent. These are just a handful of the numerous benefits of joining a writers’ group. Writing is mostly a solitary endeavor, and it’s easy to feel isolated as you toil away day after day behind a computer screen. Whether you write novels, short stories, screenplays, or something else, it’s refreshing… Read more »
I have been to writing conferences, to conventions, to workshops, and retreats, but nothing compared to the transformative experience of the Writing Excuses Retreat Baltic cruiseI embarked on this past summer. Accordingly, I’m not going to focus on the clear and present benefits of such an event, the opportunities to network with industry professionals, to… Read more »
What’s the hardest part of the writing process? Writers are divided on whether it’s starting or finishing. It’s a challenge to face a blank page or screen and get those first words down. Once you’ve found momentum on a writing project, you might run into writer’s block while wading through a tricky, unstructured middle. Finally,… Read more »
One of the key elements to be mindful of when crafting a scene is tension. Think of the scene like a stew. Your characters, plotlines, and conflict make up the “meat and potatoes”, but tension is that little extra spice that brings your scene to life. It’s the line that runs directly from your story… Read more »
When I started writing—which, for me, was a very DIY venture—I subscribed to the popular notion that the craft required solitude. In fact, I think many writers cling to an image of the profession in its classic form: quill in hand, crackling fireplace in a quiet study. And it’s no wonder why. Countless notables have… Read more »
So, you’ve sent you manuscript to an agent, or an editor, and now you wait. Will they like it? Will they take you on as a client, or publish your work? What makes them decide? Is it the unique premise or clever plot? Maybe the colorful characters? Or the snappy dialog and wonderfully rendered setting?… Read more »
In 2014, Marie Kondo sparked a worldwide minimizing trend with the release of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. When I read the book and decided to implement her “tidying” method in early 2017, my space did, in fact, get tidier, but that wasn’t all. As Kondo writes, “My… Read more »
