You hear this a lot in writing circles -- write what you know. It occurs to me that this statement can mean many different things. Does it mean I can only ever write about a dark-skinned Jewish girl who grew up in the South? I don't think so. And for some years I struggled with what it really means to write what you know. I tried writing about ( Read more... )

If you were to see me around town, you might wonder what is going on with me. I might appear a bit tuned out or jetlagged or like I'm just not all there. It's because I'm not. I'm maybe one-third here and two-thirds in the world of the first draft I'm working on. Could be reversed, depends on the day. I've got one of those characters in my head ( Read more... )

Something miraculous has happened.... I am loving revising my work-in-progress. ME! -- a first-draft-loving pantser, who has been known to despise revising. Not this time ( Read more... )

My thoughts continue this week on the concept of embracing life. I've been thinking about how affected we are by our interpretations of events, by the way we label what's happening in our lives. As I read others' blog posts and listen to others' path to publication stories, here's something I notice: Some of us receive rejections and say, "I suck. ( Read more... )

I'm trying to learn to be more Zen about life, to take what comes without judging it or freaking out about it. I seem to be a slow learner in this area. When I was a kid and played board games with my brothers, I confess, when I lost I would often fling the game off the table. It wasn't so much that I minded losing as much as I minded one of my ( Read more... )

I've been working on a first draft lately. I love first drafts. It's like reading a new book, learning what happens as you move from page to page, learning about the characters, learning what they're learning. This manuscript had been progressing really smoothly, as if it knew what it needed to say, and I was just there to get it down on paper.... ( Read more... )

What is it you wish to say in your writing or your art? Is there a message or a feeling or an experience you hope to portray? And if so, why? What moves you the most in books that you read or art that you see? Is it the underlying message, an emotion you feel or recognize while reading, or an experience that seems familiar or foreign? What moves ( Read more... )

A reader recently asked me what I think the key rules for writing a novel are. The main rule for me is remembering that there are no rules. Here's my Friday Five list of non-rules for helping you write a novel based on writing questions I've been asked.

1. How often should I write: Do what works for you. Try different things. If you find that ( Read more... )

I've been thinking about this question a lot lately. With every book I read, I ask myself, why did I like that so much? What kept me turning the pages? Or alternatively, why didn't I like it? Where did I get bored?

1. I'm currently reading White Cat by Holly Black. It's one of the best books I've read lately.What do I like about it? The first thing ( Read more... )

As much as I adore summer, it is a trickier season to find writing time. Schedules keep shifting, plans change, and writing blocks are fewer and farther between. It can be challenging to set aside writing time and to make sure that the intention holds when other possibilities come sneaking in. And then, when life starts to sling other difficulties ( Read more... )