I’ll admit. There was a period in my life when I didn’t sympathize with anyone who moaned about a lack of time to write. Life was radically different for me back then. I lived alone in a streamside apartment overlooking Mount Tremper. With vast savannahs of time spread out before me, I had a full-fledged…
Category Archives: Inspiration
Building Character by Raising the Stakes
Happiness might be great in real life. But it’s fatal in fiction. Few things numb readers more than a character surrounded by birdsong and puppies, who isn’t risking something deeply important. There’s no payoff when everything works out all hunky dory. Or when the outcome is as simple as a character getting what he…
A Few Things I’ve Learned About Revision That I Wish I’d Known Sooner
I used to dread revision. The more I’d try to fix my story, the more lost and frustrated I’d become. After dozens of rewrites, convinced my story was an irreparable mess, I’d shove my story into the drawer and move onto the next new draft. Which would lead to more revision. More confusion and frustration….
5 Ways to Become Your Own Muse
Many of us wait for inspiration to give us creative momentum. It sometimes feels as though inspiration is a mysterious, mercurial force — sometimes it shows up, sometimes it doesn’t. But what if we could summon inspiration at will? If each time we sat down to write, we could reach that magic zone where the…
How to Survive Negative Feedback On Your Story
The author Ron Carlson once joked that he wanted to hear only three things when his peers gave him feedback: I love you for writing this. This is the best thing I’ve ever read. If you don’t go on writing, I’ll die. We all want that validation that comes from hearing how great our writing…
Acceptance and Rejection: What You Need to Know About Both
Whenever we send our work out for publication, acceptance and rejection are both part of the deal. In this video we’re going to talk about how to manage both. On the publishing side, we’ll talk about the different rights magazines might purchase for your story, and what it all means. We’ll also talk about the…
Thinking Like a Real Writer
Many people define a “real writer” as one who’s published. I’ve always had trouble with this definition because, as far as I’m concerned, one has to become a real writer before publishing’s even on the radar. A real writer thrives, not from raw talent alone, or a list of publishing credits, but from an inner-directed…
Measuring Success
Recently an aspiring novelist told me she would never feel successful unless she published a bestseller. I replied that book sales have little, if anything, to do with literary achievement. After all, if making the bestseller list is the chief barometer of a writer’s success then Jackie Collins and Victoria Gotti are outrageously successful. I…
Dissolving Writer’s Block
We’ve all faced it at one time or another. We sit down to write, hell bent on churning out pages of vivid, moving prose. Then instead of being set on fire, we feel like a dried up speck of dust. With no soul. Writer’s block is no fun and while some assert that it’s just…
Can Writing Be Taught?
Writers often ask me if writing can be taught. While I don’t believe the desire and dedication to write can be taught, I’m convinced that writing can be strengthened, nourished and deepened by an awareness of craft. This is true of any art form. Great dancers, for instance, train with merciless rigor, making multiple pirouettes,…
