I stepped into Starbucks this morning and saw a sign for Pumpkin Spice Lattes. Although the weather isn’t exactly Autumn-crisp just yet, it was a stark reminder that Fall–with its themed drinks, sweaters and fantastic foliage–is upon us. For writers, that means NaNoWriMo is just around the corner. Are you participating this year? Here are… Read more »
Hey there Word Nerds! I’m so excited to share this episode with you. Today I am thrilled to be interviewing someone who I have honor of calling a mentor and friend: James Scott Bell. Jim is the author of the #1 bestseller for writers, Plot & Structure, and numerous thrillers, including his Mike Romeo series,… Read more »
Shortly after a story’s inciting incident, the protagonist must make an important decision: either keep living as she always has, or become involved in the story’s main conflict. This choice, in terms of the three-act story structure, marks the transition between Act I and Act II. Some writers also call it the “point of no… Read more »
Hey there Word Nerds! I am so glad you’ve joined me because today’s episode is going to be epic. In this interview, I speak with Andrew Piper, Associate Professor and William Dawson Scholar in the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at McGill University. Andrew is the director of .txtLAB (a digital humanities lab at McGill) and… Read more »
In the three years since I started writing, I’ve written six novels, signed book contracts for two of them and published my first one this month. I’m contracted for two more books to be written in the next six months. I have no degrees in writing. I took one literature class in college (which is… Read more »
Hello hello, word nerds! Today I have the pleasure of speaking with fellow New Yorker and awesome author, Emma Straub. I had so much fun doing this interview because it was almost like talking to a parallel universe version of myself. After the interview, Emma and I figured out that as kids growing up in… Read more »
Do you have a favorite season, one you embrace more than all the others? For me, living in Northeast U.S. and teaching for a profession, it’s summer. Besides the longer days and warmth of the sun, summer also means, “School’s Out!” It means freedom from external structure, and the opportunity to create new structures for… Read more »
Recently I pitched an editor a blog post idea. When her acceptance popped into my email I did my usual cheer and happy dance. Ideas for the piece filled my brain. I plopped back in my chair and fired off my next question, “When would you like the piece?” The editor responded with a generous… Read more »
As much as we love our protagonists, we can’t help but feel a strange or “corrupt” affinity for our antagonists. After all, the antagonist’s main role is to make the protagonist’s life difficult. However, this unique character relationship – er, conflict – is more important than we might think it is. Not only does it… Read more »
As we all know, in writing there are so many different elements to juggle: characters, plot, pacing, description, voice, dialogue…and that’s just the start. It’s not uncommon for a few storytelling elements to be shoved to the back of the stage as we write, but today I want to talk about one that really shouldn’t… Read more »
