Blog
KEEP ON WRITING: A Round-Up of Inspiring Quotes to Get You to The End
Discover how persistence shapes writing success with wisdom from Butler, Asimov, and more.
Writing In Scenes: The Secret to Show Don’t Tell
scene: a sequence of continuous action in a play, movie, opera, or book. One of the biggest mistakes I see in beginning writers’ work is the failure to dramatize. The dreaded telling, rather than showing. Writing in scenes helps you make sure that something is...
BACK TO SCHOOL FOR WRITERS: A roundup of advice on learning to write and teaching writing, from Ann Patchett to Ursula K. Le Guin
Can you really teach someone to write? That’s the question that has been debated since the first aspiring writer asked a successful author to show them how to tell a good story. Indeed, teaching and writing often go hand in hand. Many famous authors have supported...
5 Ways Out of the Middle Malaise
It happens to me with every novel. Usually somewhere in the middle, in that long swamp of scenes known as Act Two. Not writer’s block exactly, more like writer’s avoidance. A kind of insidious procrastination that erodes my sacred writing time. This week alone I found...
The Power of Place: A Round-Up of Advice on Setting, From Annie Proulx to Stephen King
Recently I had the honor and privilege of moderating one of the Zoom rooms at an event at The Back Room. One of the stellar authors making a guest appearance that night was Jordan Harper, who won the Edgar for Best First Novel for She Rides Shotgun and has now written...
Know Your Story’s Selling Points (and the Obstacles to Selling Your Story)
Selling stories is not much different than selling anything else. As a writer turned acquisitions editor and now literary agent, I learned that the hard way. It’s not enough to write a great story; to sell that story, you have to be able to milk its selling points and...
What Do Writers Want? Goal Setting for Scribblers and Other Creatives
Setting and meeting your goals for your life as a career author doesn’t have to be a SMART formula that smacks of the Human Resources Department. If SMART works for you, then great. But if such a linear, corporate approach leaves you cold (as it does me), here are some looser, livelier ways to map out a career strategy for you as a writer.
BEYOND WHAT IF?: Four plot hacks that really work
When it comes to plotting, the conventional wisdom is to play the “What If?” game. When your “What If?” well has run dry, try one of these plot hacks:
Seven Ways to Jumpstart Your Imagination
New year, new ideas! We’re all planning our writing for 2023 now, but we need to make sure that we prime the pump throughout the year. Here are seven ways to jumpstart your imagination that you can write right into your calendar:
Join the pack
Your first treat is a free Mercy and Elvis short story—available nowhere else. Then, about once a month I'll send exclusive updates, invitations, and more pack-only treats.