My mission of self-discovery began when I started documenting my journey through breast cancer. But it did not end there. The more I wrote, the more I learned. I initially wanted to know why my breast cancer diagnosis set off such a wave of sorrow inside me. Why was my past trauma fast and furiously… Read more »
Certain words keep writers up at night. They live in the darkest corners of the dictionary and carry with them anxiety and dread. For me, one is particularly ominous. Quitter. Let’s be honest. Writing is swimming upstream with a thousand pounds of hope, expectations, and manuscripts strapped firmly to your back. Publishing is a subjective… Read more »
When people ask me to talk about my book, The Devil Makes Three, the question of genre always comes up. Now, it’s somewhat obvious simply because it’s practiced: I write horror. This book is horror. That’s not quite how it started, though, and it was a long road to get there. When pitching books, we… Read more »
As authors we are always on the lookout for ways to improve our craft—to help our writing rise above the slush pile and connect with readers. And once it’s in readers’ hands, we want our work to ring true, to stick with people long after they put it down. We read articles, watch webinars, scour… Read more »
Do you feel battered and bruised after a writing session? Does your mind and body ache? That’s because writing is a sport. You must commit to it, train for it, and love it even when you hate it. All athletes start at the same place. They find a sport they love and work towards improving… Read more »
Life is better when the creative juices flow. No matter what we do for work or fun, creativity makes life easier, more exciting, and helps to achieve what we imagine. For artists, writers, and musicians, creativity is a must-have skill to survive and thrive. Many remarkable leaders, business people, scientists, and strategists (George Washington, Albert… Read more »
You have just finished your rough draft! Congrats! That is an epic feat, and you deserve to celebrate. There should probably be cake at this celebration. You earned it. Take the moment to relish your magnificent accomplishment, eat some cake, maybe take a few weeks off so you can see your story with new eyes… Read more »
As writers, I think we can all agree that copyediting is an important part of the publishing process. We know that if a reader notices an error, it will probably take him out of the lucid dream of reading. Do that enough times, and he’ll sigh with disgust and toss the book/article/essay aside for good…. Read more »
The Liability of Love, my latest novel, touches on many aspects of love, but the central relationship is a marriage between two of the main characters, Margaret and Douglas, who meet at a party in their early 20s. This happens in the mid-1980s, and though it seems quaint today, that’s how a lot of people… Read more »
Writers are odd creatures. For many of us, the ideal workday involves being shut away in a room with only a laptop, or pen and paper, rummaging around in our imaginations. Solitude required. Pants optional. So it seems like an undertaking uniquely suited to an extreme introvert. But there is more to this line of… Read more »
