Jane Levin's new poetry chapbook, Legacy, has just been published. Jane was a student in my writing classes and began publishing her poe...

Begin a dialogue on paper with an aspect of your book that you dislike or don't "get" or can't move forward with. A retice...

So far it's been a summer of intense travel, living out of a suitcase, and trying to write in internet cafes, sending book chapters-in-p...

Step 1: Create one sentence for each of four plot points in your book (peak moments, external movement, change). Step 2: Create one sentence...

Vivian Gornick talks about “the situation and the story”—the two elements of good prose. What happens and why it happens. Because of her s...

Here are some questions to think about, as you work on your writing and your book this week: What kind of reader do you see in your mind...

My first visit to the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, I saw Puccini’s Turandot. There wasn’t a moment during Puccini’s music or story ...

Is this how you are feeling about your writing sometimes? Like you're in a forest of bits and pieces where nothing makes sense enough t...

Book writers (and all writers!) need to be able to hear both the random, illogical side of their creative selves, as well as the structuring...

About a year ago, I joined a free Yahoo group called CRWROPPS--B (Creative Writers Opportunities List). Agents often encourage book writers...