4
10, 2012
The tricky trek toward those two little words
In my experience, writing the end of a novel has to be the hardest part.
6
09, 2012
Want to write? Get a life!
Close your eyes and imagine a writer. What do you see? A free-spirited young woman writing in a leather-bound journal beneath a tree?
3
08, 2012
Art vs. entertainment
Jealousy is an emotion we unpublished novelists know too well. Every success story of an out-of-nowhere-bestselling writer stirs up a storm of frustration, indignation, and, at times, incredulity.
14
06, 2012
How to make a person
The problem with stories is they require people. I’m not talking about author and reader—though they, as well as their relationship, are fraught with challenges too—but rather the individuals that populate the story itself.
29
05, 2012
When it comes to writing, how much planning is too much?
If the first draft allows the writer to indulge in a carefree orgy of imagination, a Wild West of whimsy, and a devil-may-care series of experiments, then the editing process demands the writer to abstain, rein it in, and exorcise a host of demons.
15
05, 2012
Choosing the perfect name for your baby (or villain)
The Social Security Administration recently released the top baby names for 2011. I know this because I can’t NOT click on an article about baby names.
1
05, 2012
In defense of the dabbler…or…why getting published might not be all it’s cracked up to be
In an earlier post, I defined a dabbler as someone who has yet to write one million words while simultaneously implying that the one million words benchmark might be less of a milestone than a state of mind.
10
04, 2012
Friends and family of writers, beware
Joseph Epstein said, “Every writer is a thief, though some of us are more clever than others at disguising our robberies.” He was referring to minor counts of plagiarism—an apt description, a novel turn of phrase, a treatment of syntax that (with a minor tweak) we could pass off as our own brilliant invention. However, the thievery doesn’t end there.