Jun 29, 2021 | On Writing
If you write nonfiction by day—news stories, blog posts, law briefs, sales copy, collateral, tech writing, etc.—then making the transition from nonfiction to fiction holds some special challenges. As an agent, editor, and writing instructor, I teach a lot of aspiring...
Jun 15, 2021 | On Writing
Start with characters. “Action is character.” ― F. Scott Fitzgerald Start with action. “Get your character in trouble in the first sentence and out of trouble in the last sentence.” ― Barthe DeClements Put your characters in motion. “All fiction is about people,...
May 25, 2021 | On K-9s, On Writing
Dogs and writing. Writing and dogs. Hard to say which comes first in my life, since we have three rescue dogs and the mystery series I write features former MP Mercy Carr and her retired bomb-sniffing Malinois Elvis. I’ve also written a memoir...
Apr 20, 2021 | On Writing
Write badly. “Get it all down. Let it pour out of you and onto the page. Write an incredibly shitty, self-indulgent, whiny, mewling first draft.” — Anne Lamott Write quickly. “I believe the first draft of a book — even a long one — should take no more than three...
