The through-line for this column is motivation despite setbacks. I want to encourage writers to be authentic, but to also no longer make excuses for procrastination. I always want to broach that from an empathic, non-judgmental place, so I sat down and made a list of the excuses I use for not getting my writing done…. Read more »
It is fascinating how past experiences culminate into the present, creating beliefs. Taking part in critique was, at times, akin to a battlefield. The gauntlet was daunting and sometimes painful. In academia, I developed shied away from peer critique and moved toward mentors and professionals for feedback after much proactive work on my part. As… Read more »
Negative feedback and rejection are usually considered the worst parts of the writing journey. When your manuscript receives the dreaded form rejection letter from a literary agent or a publisher fails to respond to a pitch—it isn’t easy to view this feedback as “good”. In fact, you might be asking how a form rejection can… Read more »
Dear Editor, I’ve been working on my current manuscript for a while now. It’s special to me, and I want it to be the best it can, so I’ve had it read by an editor and gotten feedback from other writers and even an agent. I’ve murdered it so much at this point. Like I… Read more »
If anyone asks who started this, I blame Cheryl Strayed. I read her book Tiny Beautiful Things recently, and loved the straightforward approach she has to giving advice for the “Dear Sugar” column on The Rumpus. Cheryl opened space for people to ask their burning questions, the ones they were too ashamed to share even… Read more »
When it comes to receiving critique, I’ve found that the more you put into the process, the more you get out of it. Here are some tips to help you make the most of a critique before, during and after the process. Before You Submit: Proofread and eliminate typos. If your submission is as tight… Read more »
The most hurtful critique I ever received came from a well-meaning uncle who, after reading my first published novel, spent an hour on the phone picking it apart. The first thing I did after hanging up was to yell a few choice words I can’t repeat here. Unfortunately, as soon as I finished yelling I… Read more »
Having previously outlined my Thirteen Rules of Successful Critique for those critiquing a piece, it’s only fair to now turn the spotlight on the writer. It takes incredible bravery for an author to bring his or her baby to a group of people for the specific purpose of having it sliced and diced while sitting… Read more »
As the leader of two writers groups and having led/attended over a hundred critique sessions, I have a lot of experience on which to draw. While many critique sessions go as intended, I’ve seen some go very, very wrong. More times than not, the miss stems from a single reason: readers going into critique to… Read more »
Hello and thank you for joining me today! This episode covers one of my favorite topics: revision. A lot of people (mostly non-writers) think revision just means running your story through spell-check, change a few words here and there, then poof! Your manuscript is ready to submit. We writers know better than that. Revision is… Read more »
