YA Wednesday: Hot Valentines
With the scent of roses in the air and the taste of chocolate lingering on my tongue, my thoughts turn to Valentine’s Days of yore. I remember in third grade when everyone was exchanging valentines, I gave one to every…
Category: Resources for Writers
Don’t Let Your Writers’ Group Become Group Therapy. Here’s How.
By Guest Contributor Stephanie Austin Edwards New York Times bestselling author Pat Conroy has said to me personally, as well as on the stage at many writers’ conferences, that he doesn’t understand why anyone would want to participate in a…
Everyday Expressions of Emotion & Other Wearisome, Well-Worn Words
I’m at that point with my manuscript: banging my head against the wall as I flag and purge repetitive words and replace all those well-worn expressions: he smiles, she grins, he laughs, they frown, she shrugs, he furrows his brow,…
Friday Feast: Crafting a Professional Image, Diversity Chat, What Makes a Novel, Author Websites, and a Bookstore Holiday
I ate a bit too much red meat and drank a bit too much red wine with friends last night while discussing works in progress, travel to Chile, osteology, and the Donner Party, among other things. Definitely not crafting a professional image…
Confessions of a Story Slam Winner
I am sitting in the audience waiting to see if Steve Almond will call my name. After years of listening to the Moth Radio Hour and going to Story Slams, I have finally gotten up the nerve to put my…
Friday Feast: Query Letters, Kindness and Conventions, Pop Culture References, Racial Invisibility and Erasure in the Writing Workshop, and the Value of Not Writing
How do you write an amazing query letter? With pizza, alcohol, and friends, of course! At least that was our hope at last night’s “Query-a-Thon,” where a group of Novel Incubator alumni and current students convened to tackle that first hurdle on…