When I turned fourteen, two important things happened. The first was a big life-changing event: I got cancer. The second began as a small daily habit: I started writing in a journal. These two things had an equal impact on my life. Almost two decades later, I don’t remember what prompted me to start writing for myself. It may […]
Writing
Just Keep Writing
Last week, I was corresponding with a friend and fellow writer whom I met at the Writer’s Digest conference back in August. We were comparing notes on the book-publishing dream; we’re both in the process of seeking agents for our first novels. After catching me up on the agents she’d talked to, the re-write she’d just […]
Give Your Characters A Personality Test
When you want to get to know someone, what do you do? Spend time with that person and ask questions, right? You find out what she likes to eat for breakfast, what makes him mad, and what makes her laugh out loud. You work from the outside in, gaining insight into his true self as you go along. […]
How To Edit Like Musicians
Today I have a guest post on bestselling author Laura Vanderkam’s blog about how to practice smarter. The material is gleaned from my experience as a musician and music teacher, and the lessons I’ve learned about productivity that can be applied to writing as well as other hobbies. The post below is a companion of sorts. […]
Don’t Let Your Story Be Like Juno
This past weekend was a very exciting time for downstate New Yorkers. We went to bed on Saturday night after a small snowstorm kept us housebound all day, then woke on Sunday morning to the breaking news that another storm was coming on Tuesday. This was no typical snowstorm; it was already being forecast as a […]
The Time Is Write Now
I have been many different kinds of writers. I have been a joyous writer. A pensive writer. A prolific one, a stagnating one. I have written inspired things, and I’ve written idiotic things. I have been a successful writer and a rejected writer. I have been a humbled writer, a proud writer. Today, I am a struggling […]