Confession time: I hit some potholes in my writing life this past year. Last spring, the novel I worked on for years went out on submission and wasn’t picked up, so my agent shelved it. In the fall, my agent read the novel I slaved over for most of 2017 and found some serious issues… Read more »
Okay, readers, today (and the next fourteen articles) I’m going to try something different. If you’ve read my articles before, you might remember one about outlining. In it, I mention James Scott Bell’s (JSB) idea on signposting scenes, which fuses the processes of outliners and non-outliners together—genius! Well, I’ve got even greater news. While reading… Read more »
Hey there word nerds! Today I am so excited to have author Stef Penney on the show! Stef is a screenwriter and author. Her debut novel, The Tenderness of Wolves,was the winner of the Costa Prize for Book of the Year and the Theakston’s Crime Novel of the Year, and was translated into thirty languages…. Read more »
If you’re writing near-future science fiction involving space travel, along the lines of Andy Weir’s The Martian, or alternate history science fiction, like Mary Robinette Kowal’s The Calculating Stars, you’re going to find your space travel limited to what we can currently achieve. When NASA, or a similar space organization, launches a rocket loaded with… Read more »
There’s not a lot of advice out there for mid-career writers. Once you’ve finished your first book or story, the expectation is that you now have a process that works for you and can be repeated. And yet, invariably, new problems arise. Maybe the idea for your second novel came in a different shape than… Read more »
Holy guacamole, word nerds, it has been such an incredible few weeks! The Facebook group has been hopping with all the discussion threads and comments. Personally, I’ve had a blast getting to know so many word nerds and having a window into your creative process. This book club has been so much fun, and it… Read more »
Hey hey word nerds! I’m back with another round up of DIY MFA Book Club prompts. Just in time, too, because the month-long challenge will be wrapping up soon! Join us in the Facebook group for a celebration and collective happy dance on Monday. Before we dive into the round-up, I have to take a… 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 »
Although lots of writers tend to fear the muddling through the middle, first chapters (and beginnings in general) can be just as daunting. You might find yourself asking, “Where do I start? What is the best part of my story to use as my first chapter?” You’re not alone in this internal debate. In fact,… Read more »
Writing happily-ever-after (HEA) is great a lot of the time. It’s comforting optimism in a world often full of difficult and sad things. Writing about love can boost a dreary day. But what about the days when you just can’t? What about the days where life feels so heavy that getting words about someone else’s… Read more »
