Advice for Writing, Editing, Reading, and Life.
New posts on Mondays (for non-fiction) or Fridays (for fiction)
National Poetry Month
I’m accepting a National Poetry Month challenge to write a poem every day for the entire month of April. As a part of my accountability structure, and as a way to force myself to become comfortable with the uncomfortable, I will be posting them to this blog.
Five Rookie Writing Mistakes (I Still Sometimes Make)
No matter how good you get at bowling, there’s always a cap after which, even if you are getting better, you can’t really measure it. In writing there’s no cap to how good you can be; however, because “good writing” is based almost entirely on subjective criteria, there’s no clear or obvious way to measure how good a writer you are.
All you can do is identify mistakes and avoid them in the future.
Finding Success in the Middle Ground — A response to “The Paradox of Platform”
Nurturing any career is a process. It’s not something that happens at a particular point in time. I got the idea to try writing picture books somewhere around five years ago. On any given day since, I am taking steps toward that end. I joined a critique group—Hooray! I studied the business of writing—Go, me! I learned to revise--Something else to celebrate! Seeing just the end goal disregards the growth points and small wins along the way.
The Importance of Rest
I still struggle with the lie that I can’t take time for real rest if I haven’t finished whatever project I’m working on. Thus, I settle for cheap “rest”, which drains me more and leaves me even less motivated and able to get back on track when I need to.
The Paradox of Platform
If you already have a built in fan-base from another venture, such as internet videos or a television show, your book will be a much easier sell than someone with no web presence, regardless of how good or bad either book actually is. As a person with virtually no platform, I know how that sounds—envious and a little bitter. To some extent it probably is, I confess, but it’s also just the reality of producing art for profit.
Five Characteristics of a Great Writing Group
Like it or not, you will never be all you can be as a writer until you open yourself up to outside feedback. Every writer needs an editor, every editor needs a reader, and every reader needs a writer. A critique group is a wonderful way to begin widening the circle of people who see and respond to your work, but I don’t recommend just thoughtlessly messaging people in hopes of finding a group. So this week, I want to discuss some things to look for in a critique group.
Nothing New Under the Sun: What To Do When Your Idea Isn’t Completely Original
Much of western fiction is some re-imagining of the Monomyth, and even when it’s not, all ideas are inspired by something that already exists. So, what should you do when you inevitably find out that the idea you’ve been nurturing… well, the Simpsons already did it?
Why Write? Because I Love Exploration
For better or worse, there’s not a whole lot left on earth that hasn’t been explored. You have the depths of the ocean and the farthest reaching recesses of cave systems. Everything else has pretty much been found and mapped.
Writing opens a loophole.
Why Write? Because I Love to Read
I love reading.
I write in hopes that somehow I’ll leave a lasting impression on someone else. I write because I firmly believe there cannot be too many books. I write because no one knows better what I love about books than I do. I write because the idea of living in a world where there’s less to read than there could be is tragic.
Why Write? An Overview of Motivation
Why write? Why bother with this blog? Why post anything at all?
The short answer is because I can.
Guidelines for Writing in Verse: One Editor's Hierarchical Preferences
Like with any form of writing, there is no right or wrong way to write in verse, but this post is designed to help you think about the elements that often go into written verse. For the sake of organization, I’ve arranged them in the order I think they benefit written verse most.
Ten Original Prompts to Get You Writing
As a rule of thumb, if you struggle with writer’s block, the worst possible solution is to stop writing and wait for inspiration. The only way to overcome writer’s block is to ignore it and push through. However, if you truly have no idea how to press on in a project, it can be really helpful to take a break from that project and write something totally different as a sort of “palate cleanser.”
With that in mind, here are five wildly different prompts to help you get writing again.
Random Tips to Write With More Confidence and Authority
When I lost my job and my book deal along with it, it was a huge blow to my confidence, and it greatly exacerbated my case of imposter syndrome. Part of the reason I began this blog in the first place was to share what I do know about writing, however little it may be, and give other writers and editors the tools they need to stop feeling like a fraud.
Five Questions to Guide Your Worldbuilding Process
Not all fiction is set in a fantastical world, distant planet, or alternate timeline, but all fiction requires some level of worldbuilding. Even a novel written to be a realistic drama set in a real, modern-day city needs internal consistency to ensure the parts that are fiction don’t clash with the parts that are not.
The Gift that Keeps on Taking: 2021 Year-End Review
This post was originally planned to be a simple recap of the books I’ve read this year and some brief spoiler-free reviews… well, it’s morphed into something more comprehensive; it exposes more of me than this blog was ever intended to, but my hope is that you, dear reader, will find it more worthwhile and helpful as a result.