“If you’re waiting for your muse, I’ve got news for you; he or she is on a beach in Maui!” -Robert Crais (Best-selling author and wearer of fabulous Hawaiian shirts.) I realized years ago that if I wanted to be a professional at writing, I had to write when I Read more…
So, you have an idea for a story – maybe it’s just an idea for a set-up or an emotional payoff at the end, and you have to get the reader from your brilliant first sentence to your brilliant last sentence somehow. You need a plot. You can’t just come Read more…
Subtitle: Why I don’t use word counts as a measure of productivity. Knitting is awesome. If I follow the pattern, I end up with a sweater. EVERY TIME. I just start at the beginning and go to the end. Many people think writing is like knitting. They expect to start Read more…
Fellow Cajun Sushi Hamster Tobias Buckell decided to host a writing workshop at the college where he worked. He invited an editor to lead it and got six or so aspiring authors like myself to attend. I was the only girl, which made me very nervous. I submitted a story I’d Read more…
Working on the write-a-thon I find myself approaching my laptop with much the same dread as a dentist’s drill. Do I gotta? Yes, young lady. You made a commitment. Now write! What happened? When I was a kid, you couldn’t stop me from writing! I filled entire spiral notebooks while Read more…
Why isn’t writing fun anymore? I asked in a previous post, and there was a simple answer. So: how to make it fun again? I can’t forget all the knowledge that makes me self-critical and slow to write. 1. Admit it’s not always fun. (I know, not what you wanted Read more…
“You aren’t bleeding in this,” my Clarion instructor said, holding up his print-out of my story. “I want to see you write something close to the bone, something that bleeds.” After I finished crying inside because I was a failure, I thought, “What does that MEAN??” “Okay,” I said to Read more…