Is your book ready for an agent? There are some great web sites out there, to help you find the right person--and to educate you on all the ...

Write a thank-you postcard (just a few lines) to five people whose books you really loved. Tell them how they changed your life. You can mai...

Imagine a year from today. Write about your book, in the present tense, using as much detail as possible, with as much loving attention as y...

Do you relate to this question, from reader Eleni Turner? "Please write about writer's block--I'm currently suffering from la...

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...