A while back, I talked about the separation between writing and editing. Writing is a process of accumulation, while editing is a process of curation. It is difficult and often inefficient to complete both of these tasks at the same time. But how do we know when to stop writing and start editing? Is it… Read more »
How’s it going, word nerds? Do you have your challenging November writing goals all mapped out? In just about 9 days, many of our community members will be embarking on their projects for National Novel Writing Month, which has become an international event by now. I generally don’t participate in this event, but I do… Read more »
When I wrote my middle grade novel, Unspoken, I had one person in mind: my daughter. I wrote it so that she would have a book where she could see herself in the pages where her particular challenges were illustrated and honored (and, of course, watch as things turned out okay!) Yet I knew that… Read more »
What’s the most important quality in a writer? Joyce Carol Oates has a surprising opinion. The most important writerly quality, she says, is not the ability to develop characters or structure plots. It’s not the presence of voice or the ear for flowing prose. It’s energy. But maybe that’s not a surprising opinion after all…. Read more »
Coming of age stories are timeless. They’re found across a multitude of genres, from children’s books (picture and chapter books, middle grade, young adult) to adult fiction and even in nonfiction form, such as memoirs and biographies. And many novels ostensibly focused on something else contain coming of age content or aspects, whether it’s memories… Read more »
I came from a family of great storytellers. Growing up I saw first-hand how stories came about and then took on a life of their own. Some occurrences, which at the time, may have been harrowing experiences, would later be retold as a lighthearted story repeated with laughter and joy at family gatherings. The segments… Read more »
“What about writing about friends and family?” Some version of this question comes toward the end of almost every personal essay class I teach. We’ve already discussed interrogation and discovery as we write. We’ve thought about beginnings and endings. We’ve considered scene, summary, and reflection. We’ve explored where to find ideas. We’ve spent time engaged… Read more »
The main character in my novel, Andrea Hoffman Goes All In, is an institutional equity salesperson. Don’t be alarmed if you don’t know what that is. Neither did I until I became one. But it is important that my readers understand the basics of the job and some facts about the stock market and investing… Read more »
Someone once asked me at a reading what I would say to an aspiring writer, and I answered “craft your pain.” I believe a story can uplift, amuse, and encourage, but no matter how lucky you are, by birth or chance, everyone experiences grief. Everyone knows loss, and everyone needs, at one time or another,… Read more »
The creative life is filled with magic, passion, and adventure. This is the truth. Writing, like reading, transports a soul. This is also true. Even if you’re only in it for the money and fame (ha, ha), if you keep at it, you will discover things about yourself and the world you could know in… Read more »
