I’m big on beginning novels in media res (in the middle of things), meaning jumping into a scene…
I recently read and commented on a number of submissions for Hunger Mountain, Vermont College of Fine Arts’ journal for…
The worst part of the writing process is the blank screen, the white paper, the emptiness, the limitless possibilities. The best…
Oops, I did it again. No, no, I haven’t broken a guy’s heart à la Britney Spears, but I’ve repeated the…
My agent recently had this to say about my current work-in-progress: she couldn’t identify with my main character and couldn’t…
When I was a kid, I wrote letters. Real letters. By hand. Sometimes chain letters. Who has time for that…
I want to pass along an exercise I led earlier this month at a high school Writers Fest. I asked…
This month I read two awesome mysteries, Mary Miley’s The Impersonator, and Kristen Kittscher’s The Wig in the Window, and…
I learn a ton when I interview my characters. Over the years, I’ve compiled a set of questions for them,…
This past February while writing a new scene, a character showed up, whispered to my protagonist, “We have safe houses…