Birthing Babies, Birthing Books
Once again, I find myself gestating two babies: my book and an actual human child, currently two weeks out from D-Day. This happened two years ago too, smack in the middle of the Novel Incubator. I went to class one…
Category: The Writing Life
Friday Feast: Novel Checklist, Writing Tips, and Literary Food Blogs
Sometimes, you have to eat at your desk while working or writing or reading blogs (except for that one potential employer who warned me that eating at your desk — lunch or snacks* — is not permitted). Gillian Anderson approves….
This Draft Sucks Part II — Take A Break
This Draft Sucks – Part I ends with the following advice: if you think your draft sucks, put it away. Don’t look at it for a month and hope when you return with fresh eyes it won’t suck as badly…
Friday Feast: Retweets, Publishing at Any Age, Literary Legalities, and Body Language
I retweeted a bit of praise, and now everyone thinks I’m a jerk… I’ll never publish my novel, and everyone knows it… I used the word “shrug” 432 times in my novel, and now my writing group thinks I need to go…
DIY Retreat: Rev Up Your New Writing Year
December is a minefield of writing distractions—parties, presents, way too much egg nog, and not nearly enough silent nights. Fortunately, January is the antidote. The indulgent holiday spirit is replaced with a refreshed sense of discipline, ambition, and self-improvement. What’s that you say? You didn’t start…
The Beginnings of a Meditation Practice for Writers
I don’t know much about meditating but have been aspiring to do so for years ever since I read Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones. Over the years, I’ve tried. I went to countless classes, got an iPhone app, looked…