Note From KMW: For almost two years now, a question I have frequently received from readers is: “How to write about the pandemic?” Most often, I’ve heard this question from those who are (or were) writing stories set in the present day or the near future. Now that both have changed, perhaps forever, in ways both […]
October 22, 2018 by 22 Comments How to Become a Writer4 Things Writers Can Learn From Making a Movie
I’ve been a book editor and a writer for a number of years now. As an author, I have one published novel in The Listeners; as an editor, I’ve worked on more than seventy. I’ve written screenplays that were optioned but never made, and I’ve sat at book signings to which no one showed up. […]
August 4, 2017 by 27 Comments NarrativeHow to Write Your Characters’ Actions with Clarity
Have you ever tried to watch an old film? Not a digitally remastered edition or a corrected copy, but a genuinely old film, silent and sepia-toned. Some frames are misplaced or backwards. Some aren’t there at all. You can follow the action well enough, filling in the gaps where they appear—but that doesn’t mean you […]
May 29, 2015 by 58 Comments Editing Your NovelWord Count Woe: What Should You Do With Your Very Long Manuscript?
Sometimes being the author of a really long novel is no fun at all. It’s not something we talk about a lot, but it’s true, isn’t it? Your friend with the 70,000-word novel (fairly typical) has a relatively easy time getting feedback from friends and family, while you have to beg and plead for someone to […]
August 8, 2014 by 59 Comments Editing Your NovelThe Crash: Braving Your Second Draft
Tell me if you’ve been here before. It’s May, with finals lurking around every corner, and you’re stuck in your room barreling through the paper on which your entire future depends. Or at least that’s how it feels right now. You’ve worked on it all day, and all night, and also all of the previous […]
February 7, 2014 by 27 Comments Editing Your NovelWhy Gut Feelings Are a Writer’s Secret Weapon
Most writers have better instincts than we may think we do. We just have to learn to trust them. Now, I’m a developmental editor. My ability to do my job is grounded in my faith in my instincts when it comes to analyzing and discovering the issues in other authors’ manuscripts. I know I have the […]
