“Writing is magic,” notes Stephen King, the most prolific author in history, “as much the water of life as any other creative art. The water is free. So drink. Drink and be filled up.” I concur, so much so that it is the featured quote on my website. But is it magic? Is writing so […]
September 9, 2019 by 28 Comments Writing InspirationWriting’s Secret Formula: How to Write Stories That Matter
December 19, 2014 by 24 Comments Writer's HelpWriting for Young Adults: How to Create Exceptional Literature
“I wrote a few children’s books…not on purpose.”–Steven Wright. It can feel that way sometimes, when I am writing for young adults. Finding the right voice which speaks to both (Young Adult) YA and adult audiences can prove maddeningly elusive. But conscious effort to understand your chosen genre and audience, and to speak to them […]
June 13, 2014 by 43 Comments Marketing Your NovelAre 5-Star Book Reviews Bad for Sales?
5-star book reviews have become a bane. They are everywhere you look. And it’s understandable—in this age of indie- and self-publishing and platform-building, what better way of garnering attention (and hopefully sales) than the come-hither testament of a glowing 5-star review? Everyone and his uncle seem to have written the next Great American Novel. Perhaps […]
March 21, 2014 by 28 Comments Writer's HelpSherlock Holmes vs. C. Auguste Dupin: 4 Ways to Improve Your Writing
Sherlock Homes rose and lit his pipe. “No doubt you think that you are complimenting me in comparing me to Dupin,” he observed. “Now, in my opinion, Dupin was a very inferior fellow.–A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Fighting words—within the detective genre, anyway. Yet the term “detective” had not yet been coined when […]
