The Novelist as Plate Spinner
Don’t you hate it when you are deep into reading a novel, and the author refers to something you can’t remember? You come across a line like, “Of course, Bob never would have divorced Jill if it weren’t for what…
Category: The Writing Life
3 Reasons Why I Set My Novel in an Alternative World
The question I get the most about my novel-in-progress is, “Why is it set in an alternative world?” My story takes place in the country of Silmara, not to be found on any map except ones I’ve drawn (alas, cartography…
How To Write When Your Father Is Dying
You will sit down to write on a Sunday morning. Your final manuscript is due to your Incubator class in 22 days. The phone will ring. Your heart will sink at the Maine area code. It will be your father’s…
Communication Breakdown: When reading body language is a necessity
Just over a year ago, in a paroxysm of post-election whythehellnottery, my wife and I packed up our books and moved from Boston, MA to Madrid, Spain. My Spanish was shaky at best, and still is. I spend most days in…
Your Writing, Your Business: Why You Should Hire a CPA
Equipped with TurboTax and coffee, the world of writers went forth on April 17th (why did you wait so long?) to report and value their last year of work as freelancers, teachers, you name it. I’m talking tax returns, of…
How I Changed All My Writing Habits
It is a truth universally acknowledged that one when becomes a writer paid (minimally, but paid!) for writing, one chucks all of one’s precious notions about craft and art and motivation out the window that has needed replacing for three…