That Name Rings a Bell
Like a lot of writers, I have a little notebook where I jot down stuff that pops into my head. Sometimes it’s an idea or phrase. Sometimes it’s nothing more than a single word. For instance, the last note I…
Category: Writing
Project Management Phrases I Bark at My Writing Mentee
Most people in my writing circle know that I am a former project manager. “Former” because when you’re a project manager most coworkers think that you are evil, sent from Hell to destroy their workday happiness with demands for goals…
Don’t Show OR Tell: Evoke
“Show, don’t tell.” It’s likely the most common writing advice out there and with good reason. Readers want to experience the world of your story, not have it dictated to them. But it’s worth pushing this advice a little further,…
An Interview with Jonathan Papernick, Author of The Book of Stone
Jonathan Papernick’s debut novel, The Book of Stone, transports us to pre-9/11 Brooklyn to follow the course of Matthew Stone, a mentally unstable young man who loses a father and enters of a world of religious extremism. According to Dara…
Read and Reread
“For all I know, writing comes out of a superior devotion to reading.” Eudora Welty, On Writing I just did something I haven’t done in years. I read two novels in the span of two weeks. Joy! I fussed and…
10 Ways to Paint a Portrait With Words
I often struggle with describing my characters. Right now, I’m banging my head against a wall trying to describe a teenage boy who has visions as more than a blond hunk. This is all the more frustrating because my mother…