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 »
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 recent weeks the future of the personal essay has been a hot topic – you may have come across Jia Tolentino’s article in the New Yorker, Lorraine Berry’s take on the situation over at LitHub or Susan Shapiro’s response to Tolentino’s piece. As a writer, teacher and lover of creative non-fiction, particularly its genre-bending… 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 »
One of the most common questions writers get asked is: “How do you come up with your ideas?” Creativity is the backbone of storytelling because without creative ideas there are no stories. You want to have as many ideas, or “sparks” as I call them, as possible. But how do you come up with those… Read more »
The blogosphere is full of advice for writers about self-promotion, building online relationships, self-branding, creating a platform, and more. But the truth is, if you ask most agents and editors what they’d most like to see from a new writer, the answer is almost always, “Great writing.” With that in mind, here are five ways to pursue excellence. 1…. Read more »
America is a nation of immigrants, and theme of being an “outsider” is a common one in our literature. A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about five great American novels that feature male protagonists. This week, I’ll be doing the same with books that feature female protagonists. This is just the tip of the iceberg,… Read more »
Do you know a tween or young teen who has moved on from Harry Potter but isn’t ready for Hunger Games? Loved Inkheart but found Twilight too heavy on the sappy romance? Have I got the list for you! From under-aged criminals to giant cockroaches, there are some attention-grabbing books available! Here are five fantasy/science fiction… Read more »
Christmas shopping can be tough, especially when you want to give special gifts that make the recipients smile, assuring them that you know them, and you’ve been paying attention. Writers are one of the easiest groups of people to shop for, but for some reason, people are often stumped. They have no idea what a… Read more »
I’m geekin’ out. Guys, science fiction and fantasy is bigger and better than ever. Check it out: Almost everybody knows at least something about Game of Thrones, The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Avatar, Ender’s Game… The list of TV and movies for us genre fans just keeps growing, and I couldn’t be happier. But some… Read more »
