This week’s Writing Show, “Editing for Emotional Impact,” presented by James River Writers, was like a cornucopia of craft tips,…
This month, I caught up with Ruta Sepetys, recently home from a two-month book tour for her latest…
When I was a student in the MFA program at Vermont College of Fine Arts, I heard Jane Kurtz, the…
For months I’ve been trying to find the right opening for the novel I started in 2013, and I think…
I’m big on beginning novels in media res (in the middle of things), meaning jumping into a scene…
Today’s post is for every fiction writer with a manuscript (like mine) that isn’t quite working. I’ve hit the two-year…
The worst part of the writing process is the blank screen, the white paper, the emptiness, the limitless possibilities. The best…
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…
Last month, a friend entrusted me with the privilege of skimming and commenting on her draft of a novel. Her…