Friday, December 6, 2013

From School Principal to Thriller Writer--The Grassroots Journey of Andy Rose

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In 1967, Andy Rose started working as a fifth-grade teacher in the impoverished Lower East Side of Manhattan. The children in his classe...
Friday, November 29, 2013

The Intriguing Structure of Claire Dederer's Poser--How to Link Different Topics, Timelines, and Themes in a Memoir

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Author Claire Dederer came to book-writing after being a journalist for about twenty years, working as a reporter, critic, and essayist....
Friday, November 22, 2013

Pros and Cons of the Workshopping Method--And How to Manage Feedback So You Keep Writing

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We all have war stories from bad feedback.  If you've been writing and attending conferences or classes for more than a few years,...
Friday, November 15, 2013

Crafting Your Book's Visual Map--New Ways to Use a Storyboard

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Storyboards are a fast and easy template to check the strength of a book's structure.  More and more writers use them.  I hear about f...
Friday, November 8, 2013

Using an Image Board to Get Closer to the Meaning of Your Story

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Guest Post by   Memoirist and Singer/ Songwriter Elisa Korenne Elisa Korenne entered the creative-writing world as a songwriter. ...
Friday, November 1, 2013

Cyber Inspiration--Great Author Websites and Bios to Kick Yours into High Gear

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Nicki, a blog reader from South Carolina, is putting together a website for her book.  She wondered about great author websites or tips...
Friday, October 25, 2013

Who's on First? Power in Characters and Power in Locations--How Good Pairings Raise Tension in Your Novel or Memoir

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    A writing rule I wish I knew when I started out:  to create tension in your scenes, two or more elements of power must be combine...
Friday, October 18, 2013

Writing Emotions into Your Book: How Being a Good Observer Brings Your Characters--Real or Imagined--Alive

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Emotions reveal us, but we don't often reveal our emotions.  Players on your page are the same.  They show us who they are via move...
Friday, October 11, 2013

Dialogue Do's and Don'ts: Crafting Lively and Believable Back-and-Forth on the Pages of Your Book

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Writing dialogue should be easy, right?  Most of us talk.  We text, we email, we use words in conversation all the time.  We listen (some...
Friday, October 4, 2013

If You Want to Quit Your Day Job and Be a Full-Time Writer . . . Is It Possible?

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In 2004, I decided to leave my full-time editing job at a small publishing company in the Midwest, move to New England and go back to sc...