“I loved your book.” “I really enjoyed your book.” “Your book was wonderful.” It’s always a treat to hear comments like that. And whenever I read a wonderful book, I usually tell the author those same things. But now that I’ve heard some more specific comments, I realize what a difference the exact words make. […]
Contrary to what some writers will say, there is a secret formula to good writing. How do you become a good writer? Write every day – “If you work out with weights for fifteen minutes a day over a course of 10 years, you’re gonna get muscles. If you write for an hour and a […]
Go Forward… It’s not as easy as it sounds. For some it means putting down a manuscript we’ve revised (until even we’re sick of our characters) and beginning something new. For others it means stepping out of the familiar (for example changing from the historical to the contemporary genre or visa versa). For all of […]
Hmm — What else to say with the final chapter of my Tough Love series? I recently held a workshop on finding the time to write. I shared my experience, duly providing tips and solutions to conquer apathy and other bad habits. One tip in particular concerns the destructive force called negative energy. This ball […]
The Beauty of Boredom I attended a writer’s retreat last June. The name of the retreat was “Writing and Dharma,” and it was billed as a combination writing and meditation retreat. Sounded right up my alley, so I jumped a plane to Portland, Oregon, and caught a rideshare to Cloud Mountain meditation center in the […]
From the day I first discovered her lurking in my head, my muse, Gertrude, and I shared a terrific relationship. That is, until recently. After five blissful years and seven and a half completed manuscripts, Gertrude took an unapproved vacation. No warning, no disagreement to precipitate her departure. One day she was there, the next […]
It’s happened again. You’ve had another rejection, one of those awful, generic ‘editorial department’ ones we all dread: ‘Your story is well-written and plotted, but lacks the emotional depth and excitement we’re looking for.’ You probably screw up the letter and throw it somewhere. You imagine vile things happening to that rotten editor who has […]
Rejection is part of the writing business : it means, more than anything else, that you’re doing your job. No one (and I mean no one) gets through their career without getting rejected. But there are ways to make rejection work for you. There are two crucial things to remember about rejection: First, rejection stinks. […]
When I sold my first book, I was ecstatic — until I hit a writer’s block that lasted for a year and a half. Now that I’ve experienced it, I know that it’s both real and painful for a lot of writers. It’s not that you can’t write — you show up to the page, […]
I never would’ve had the guts to write this if I hadn’t just sold a book. I would’ve kept my shame and embarrassment to myself, figuring if I kept quiet maybe nobody would notice me and I wouldn’t have to feel like an utter failure. But telling this to a friend who said “Gee, this […]