Writing is not only an intellectual endeavor for me, it’s also very much a physical one. When I’m on to the right story, the right location, the right situation, the right theme, my body tells me. I feel a surge of excitement in my solar plexus that literally sends the message Yes yes yes! to […]
October 11, 2009 by 40 Comments Writing InspirationWhy You Should Be Writing Scared
It’s my belief that writers should be writing scared pretty much all the time. In fact, a constant state of terror would be optimal. When you sit down at your desk and extend your hands to your keyboard, a little tremble should shake your fingers. Your heart should be pounding just hard enough that you […]
October 3, 2009 by 16 Comments Outlining Your NovelWhat If: The Two Most Powerful Words in a Writer’s Repertoire
Almost all writers are familiar with the power of the “what if” question. Every novel, story, and article is inspired by those words, even when the question isn’t articulated. Many of us, however (myself included up until a few years ago) fail to tap the question’s full potential. Why? Simply because we don’t make a conscious effort to answer it. […]
August 2, 2009 by 41 Comments Writing InspirationThinking About Giving Up on Your Story: This Is the #1 Reason You Shouldn’t
There you are, staring at the computer, fighting the very nearly overwhelming urges to alternately smash your forehead against the keyboard, tear your hair out, and, eventually, weep inconsolably. The problem? You’re 30,000 words into your latest novel, and nothing is going right. The dialogue is as flat as week-old roadkill. The characters are either […]
May 23, 2009 by 25 Comments Writing Inspiration4 Unbeatable Ways to Fight Writer’s Block
Would it surprise you to hear I don’t believe in writer’s block? This infamous boogey man, rumored to lurk behind computer monitors and breathe down writers’ necks, hypnotizing us with the blinking cursor and laughing as we toss upon our sleepless beds—he’s just a ghost story as far as I’m concerned. An over-hyped ghost story […]
May 18, 2009 by 10 Comments Writing Inspiration5 Ways to Capture Brilliant Ideas for Your Novel
I think it’s safe to open this post with a broad, sweeping generalization: We write because of inspiration. Not only because without inspiration we wouldn’t have anything to write about, but also because inspiration is the writer’s version of runner’s high. It’s this top-of-the-world, explosion-of-joy experience that makes the personal sacrifices and hard work of […]
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 […]
January 4, 2009 by 7 Comments Writing InspirationThe Myth of Originality
All of art is based on a quest for originality. As individuals, we become artists in an effort to highlight new ideas and invent new vantage points through which to view the world. As agents and editors and publishers, we’re seeking the one story the public has never read. And as readers, we’re looking for […]
December 27, 2008 by 23 Comments Writing InspirationAre You Writing With Joy?
It’s interesting to look back through time at the ranks of famous authors and realize how many of them have experienced less than fulfilling lives and even tragic ends. Writing ain’t for sissies. To be worth its salt, writing has to be a lifestyle (note that lifestyle and vocation aren’t necessarily the same thing), and […]
July 20, 2008 by 35 Comments Writing LifeThe Ridiculously Surefire Way to Write the Perfect Novel
Is there such a thing as the perfect novel? And, if so, how does one go about writing it? I think most of us would agree that that the answer to the first question is an indisputable no. Perfection in art is unequivocally subjective. What one reader hails as perfection, another will throw across the […]
