The Author’s Voice I recently read “The Fire in Fiction†by Donald Maass (Founder and President of the Donald Maass Literary Agency) and in one chapter he discusses the voice of your novel, something that new authors often struggle with. Donald Maass has this advice to writers: “It is when the words on the page demand […]
Category > Writing
Resolution: organization
Hellooooooo! Welcome to the new year. If you’re like me, you’ve made some resolutions (you, ten pounds–you’re going down!). If you’re a writing type–also, like me–you’re getting ducks in a row, setting goals and starting new projects. And if you live in the real world (don’t look at me, I just rent on this planet), […]
On spells & spelling: an interview with Blake Charlton
The day I downloaded Google Chrome, I realized something: I’m no longer the spelling queen I used to be. Watching Chrome mercilessly auto-spell-check my Tweets and Google searches made my heart hurt. Spelling sometimes seems trivial, but often I caught myself struggling and failing to spell a complicated word, only to settle for the next […]
Guest Post: Robert J. Bennett, author of Mr. Shivers
We are honored to have Robert J. Bennett–author of the acclaimed and deeply creepy Mr. Shivers—as our very first guest blogger. Many thanks to Robert for contributing this post! It is a silly man who spends his nights worrying about his problems, for in the morning he is tired, and his problems remain unchanged. – […]
The power in pain
The phrase “tortured artist” brings to mind several famous figures: Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Woolf, Kurt Cobain, Vincent Van Gogh, and many others. While the phrase is often used in a somewhat disparaging sense, implying a sort of purposeful cultivation of a negative attitude, in reality these individuals suffered through tragic and often unavoidable circumstances, whether severe health issues, […]
What’s on your shelf?
If there’s anything better than writing, it’s reading about writing. Learning the basics, honing our craft, searching for inspiration, we fill our shelves with the wisdom of those who have gone before. The first book on writing that I ever bought was Telling Lies for Fun and Profit, by Lawrence Block. It contains great advice […]
Filling Your Well
While wrestling with my first novel rewrites, I had what could be called nothing less than a meltdown. To say I was in complete anguish over the novel would only be telling half the story. I debated with myself whether to scrap the entire thing or not, and was really pissed at myself for having […]
What kind of stories do you write?
There are questions that every author dreads to hear. Usually it’s something along the lines of “Where do you get your ideas?â€, which I don’t actually mind. Mine is “What kind of stories do you write?†It’s a fair question I ask. I often glare jealously at my friends as they whip out answers to […]
Writing Groups: Why You Should Join One
A few years ago I quit my job to focus on writing. Prior to my last day, and in preparation for my new career as a novelist, I took a day course on how to write the break-out novel from respected New York agent Donald Maass, and picked up a few writing books (all of […]
Write as if Your Parents are Dead
[Note: this post is in response to a reader request by @sheikyurbouti. Thanks, though this may raise more questions than answers…] 1. “Write as if your parents are dead.†2. I’m sorry if your parents are dead. But I’m not sorry enough to stop. 3. You may have heard this advice in a creative writing […]
