Do writers have to be readers? Reading is fast becoming a lost art. In our digital age of television and Internet, even the leisurely reading of the morning paper is going out of habit with most people. Sometimes, when I happen to be in a particularly cynical frame of mind, I can’t help thinking the […]
May 5, 2009 by 27 Comments Editing Your NovelWhy YOUR Opinion of Your Writing Is the One That Matters Most
Sometimes it pays to think of yourself before others. Many of us grew up with the Golden Rule etched into our psyches. And most of us would probably like to think we follow that rule as often as possible. But when it comes to your writing, the Golden Rule isn’t of much use. In fact, […]
April 26, 2009 by 32 Comments Writing LifeThe Value of Stories That Fail
Good writers aren’t born. Okay, well, actually, they are born, since it would be physically impossible to write without being born… but they’re aren’t born good. At least, I’ve yet to meet a four-year-old wunderkind who’s running around writing Pulitzer Prize-winning epics. I know I sure wasn’t. Instead, good writers are made. Skill isn’t a […]
April 19, 2009 by 24 Comments Writing LifeLearn How to Project (and Find) Yourself in Your Writing
Have you ever found yourself looking up from the pages of a book and wondering how much the words you’re reading are a reflection of the author’s own personality and life? We’re all familiar with famous examples of autobiographical fiction (such as Dickens’s David Copperfield) in which it’s easy to draw parallels between the make-believe […]
April 12, 2009 by 17 Comments Plotting Your Novel6 Things Your Characters Want–and 4 Ways to Keep Them Frustrated
We authors are pretty mean folk. Here we are, creating characters whom we love almost as much as our family and friends–and yet every day, on every page, we make them suffer. We figure out what characters want and then refuse to give it to them. Actually, truth be known, we kind of enjoy making […]
April 5, 2009 by 26 Comments Writing InspirationHow to Tell if a Story Isn’t Ready to Be Written
In December, I finished Dreamlander, the fantasy I worked on for almost two years. Now, four months later, it’s time for me turn my eyes to the future and start writing again. That creative lobe in my brain is starting to itch, and I’m getting that restless urge to start visiting unknown worlds and invisible […]
March 22, 2009 by 53 Comments Structuring Your NovelWhat You Need to Know About Writing Novels in the Age of Movies
I have a confession. For someone who spends her time writing novels, it’s kind of a deep, dark secret, so brace yourself. I like movies better than books. Shocking, I know. Don’t get me wrong. I couldn’t live without books. I practically breathe books. I gobble more than 100 books a year. Why? Because I love […]
March 15, 2009 by 62 Comments Description4 Ways to Make Readers Instantly Loathe Your Character Descriptions
Fiction once began with the face, with the act of observation of the faces of others. Does it still? It’s arguable. I can imagine a skeptic wondering what difference it makes whether writers describe faces or not. Does anything of importance really hang in the balance? Who cares? Does it make any difference to the […]
March 8, 2009 by 21 Comments ThemeThe Reason The Great Escape Is My All-Time Favorite Movie
My all-time favorite movie is the classic World War II film The Great Escape (1963), with Steve McQueen, James Garner, and Richard Attenborough. How come? When you think about it, it’s really a strange war movie: hardly any violence, little action to speak of, and few references to the war itself. Yet every time I watch it, […]
February 22, 2009 by 10 Comments How to Become an Author(More) of the Best Writing Advice From 10 (More) of the Best Writing Teachers
It isn’t difficult to flip through my writing library and discover what passages have impacted me. My books are punctuated with a brilliant green highlighter pen. So, in hopes of sharing a little of the best writing advice with all of you, I flipped through a few more my favorite books on the craft and chose […]
