A few months ago, I attended a one-day seminar on revision. The lecturer started off by asking the audience to describe “revision” in one word. Everyone laughed when somebody said, “Hell.” Except me. I know not everyone out there shares…
I was sitting on a bare mattress thinking about Oreos when the call came in. “Oh hai,” the agent dude said. “I’d like to represent you.” “Cool,” I said back. “Thanks for that.” And then we pretty much hung up…
My high school best friend, Jen, and I were discussing books recently. She started telling me, with great enthusiasm, about a novel she had just read that she thought I would like. But she stopped mid-sentence and said, “Oh, never…
“Why isn’t this in the past tense?” Was the question. “By definition, all stories occur in the past.” I was stumped. There I was sitting in my writing workshop, years into a novel about which I had thought of absolutely…
Writers are alarmingly susceptible to certain overlooked and under-reported maladies. But early detection is key, and as a fellow author concerned about the well-being of his community, I implore you to take two minutes out of your day to review…
This post first appeared four years ago, when the Novel Incubator was only a toddler. Now, with Class 7 more than halfway through their year, we decided once again to take a break from our typical posts to give you…