I want to write a book. You remember when this big idea first hit, right? Maybe you were browsing for books, waiting for an author’s autograph, or sitting in stupefied awe after finishing a great novel. The idea took root and then, bam, you’re rushing to a stationary store to gear up, buying all the […]
August 17, 2020 by 43 Comments How to Become a Writer5 Exercises for Honing Your Story Instincts
How strong are your story instincts? This abstract and sometimes elusive concept rests at the very bottom of a writer’s toolkit. Your story instincts determine how successful your storytelling is, and whether you are able to offer readers the all-important “it” factor. Your story instincts are the foundation onto which you build with all the […]
October 28, 2019 by 40 Comments How to Become a WriterHow to Know Which Parts of Your Story Readers Will Like Best (It Isn’t Always What You Think)
You want readers to like your story. You want to give them something to love on every single page. But it’s so much easier said than done. How can you know—really know—which parts of your story readers will like and which will have them yawning and skipping ahead? So many stories, in all mediums, hit […]
May 27, 2019 by 95 Comments How to Become a Writer4 Challenges of Writing for a Modern Audience
Sometimes I think everything I learned about life I learned from The Andy Griffith Show. For instance, in the episode “Andy Discovers America,” when Andy is incredulous about the new school teacher “starting them awful young for history,” Aunt Bea just sighs, “Well, maybe they have to. There’s more of it these days.” If that idea was […]
December 10, 2018 by 74 Comments How to Become a WriterThe 10-Step Checklist to Writing an Above-Average Novel
“Anybody can write a novel.” Writers sometimes hear that statement from dismissive non–writer family and friends. Rightfully, we dislike the insinuation, since we know full well how much education, talent, skill, effort, and dedication is required for “anybody” to write a novel. Still, there is a certain measure of truth in the idea that “anybody can […]
November 5, 2018 by 55 Comments How to Become a WriterWhen Writing, How Do You Know When Enough Is Enough?
Last month, I invited you to tell me what topics you’d like me to write about. You flooded my inbox and comments section with suggestions. (I scheduled this as an “easy” post that wouldn’t require much maintenance while I was in the midst of the a big move. When I logged on that first day to […]
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. […]
July 2, 2018 by 94 Comments How to Become a WriterJudge Yourself Less, Trust Yourself More, and Write Better Stories
When we think of creativity, we usually think of light and color, happiness and freedom. That’s the upside of living the creative life of a writer. But there’s a dark side too—one we don’t always like to talk about. And that dark side can be encapsulated in two words: judgment and perfectionism. There’s a controversial […]
May 21, 2018 by 23 Comments How to Become a WriterHow to Grow as a Writer: 5 Logical Steps
Writers are students. Sometimes this is the result of nothing more than sheer necessity: we seek answers for our questions because writing has turned out to be far more difficult than we anticipated. But often, writers are students first and writers second. If this is you, then concentrating on how to grow as a writer […]
May 14, 2018 by 69 Comments How to Become a Writer5 Lies Writers Believe That Are Holding Them Back
There are many lies writers believe that hold them back. When you think about it, this is kind of ironic. After all, aren’t stories stories lies that serve to tell the truth? I think the reason most writers get a perverse chuckle out of that last idea is because, as humans, we are hard-wired to […]
