“If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.” ― Toni Morrison
Neil Gaiman's law- being that no matter how much a book is proofread, upon opening a printed copy for the first time, the first thing you'll see is a typo. I wasn't sure I believed in Gaiman's law until I submitted a short story to a competition the other day. I reread it a hundred times.… Continue reading Gaiman’s Law, Typos, and Pain
Writer's Block is easy enough to understand. Writer's Guilt, however, is a bit different. Writer's Block passes—sometimes like a kidney stone, but it passes. But Writer's Guilt lingers. At least it does for me. Writer's Guilt is when you, as a writer, find yourself in a rare moment of calm, of relaxation, of repose, but… Continue reading Writer’s Guilt: You Should Be Writing….or Should You?
I have been trying to pin down exactly what has contributed to my lack of productivity in the last few months in terms of my WIPs. While I have been relatively consistent with posting on this blog over the intervening months, I have not been nearly so diligent about making sure I am devoting time… Continue reading Writing Isn’t Safe
Perhaps I'm in the minority, but I'm finding myself consistently disappointed by writing prompts I find on the internet. I understand that the main point of these niblets are to get our minds jogging and not to help us produce a 1,000 page Pulitzer Prize winning work of art. Nevertheless, I can't help but feel… Continue reading Strange Writing Prompts For Your Boring Monday
I've seen several Instagram posts that say things like "is it sad that my characters are my best friends?" or "I have more conversations with my characters than I do with real people. Is that bad?" Yes. Yes, it is. Not because you're a wallflower with friends that exist only in your mind. That's perfectly… Continue reading Your Characters are NOT Your Friends: A Public Service Announcement for Writers
Conventional wisdom says that you're supposed to write what you know. However, I have decided to go the harder route and try writing what I don't know. Why am I trying to carry out this obviously horrible idea? Because if I never try anything new, every single protagonist I write will be an introverted middle-class… Continue reading How I’m Writing What I Don’t Know
A few years ago, my novel writing class had a high-profile guest speaker talk to us: the award-winning author of a YA book we had been assigned to read about a week prior. I was pretty jazzed about it considering how much I'd enjoyed the story. I've had predominately good experiences with meeting published authors… Continue reading When a Writer You Admire is a Jerk
I’ve put it off long enough. I must edit the third draft of my story. It’s been a while since I looked at this novella and, to be honest, I’m kind of terrified. Is it going to be better than I remember? Worse than I remember? I have no way of knowing until I reread it.… Continue reading Editing My Novella, or the Red Pen of Death
I am happy there is someone who is willing to give me their honest opinion of my work. It can be difficult to a) find someone who is willing to read anything, let alone something I wrote and b) find someone who will not pull punches when it comes to problems with plot, story, characters,… Continue reading Letting My Friend Break My Kneecaps, or Getting Constructive Criticism
Description here. I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but it was recommended to me by a creative writing major at my university so I thought I'd give it a read. I am so glad that I did. This is, unquestionably, the best book I've ever read on writing. And, yes, that includes… Continue reading Thoughts on “Bird By Bird” by Anne Lamott
The Crooked Pen 