I love summer and fall but I long for winter for its stillness. I'm best able to vision in stillness--and by that, I mean clearly see wh...

Stellar first chapters are a bear to write. They are also essential if you want to sell your book to a publisher. Most "samples" o...

Few writers I know enjoy writing "tough" material: especially when it's either dry as dust or a slap of heavy emotion. How to ...

For years, I've collected best resources for writers. I've used these in my teaching and coaching, and for my own education, inspira...

Back in the late 90s, I was a prolific and published writer in the nonfiction genre, with a syndicated newspaper column and quite a few book...

Some days, I resent the flood of info that enters my inbox. I don't really want more input or stim--those days, I'm barely juggling ...

Writing being one of the healing arts is not a new idea--there's been research since the 80s on this topic. James Pennebaker, from the U...

Early in the writing process, an author faces their genre. What kind of book will this be? Agents and publishers need to know, but more impo...

Last week, I talked about false beliefs, how they create character change and growth. As a character in fiction or memoir faces the limitati...

Character in fiction and memoir is built on certain convoluted pathways. Because tension and conflict drive story, these pathways are often ...