When I was a kid, I wrote letters. Real letters. By hand. Sometimes chain letters. Who has time for that…
“Restless Leg Syndrome? Oh, that’s an electrolyte imbalance,” said a doctor-friend. “Just drink Gatorade.” I shrugged. Couldn’t hurt. So I…
What does “show, don’t tell” really mean, anyway? Last week Chuck Sambuchino posted my article “7 Things I’ve Learned So…
This month I read two awesome mysteries, Mary Miley’s The Impersonator, and Kristen Kittscher’s The Wig in the Window, and…
When you tell a joke, you have to remember the punch line before you tell it, or you won’t get…
Novelist Elmore Leonard passed away this month, leaving behind forty-some books and his “Ten Rules of Writing.” I agree with…
This past February while writing a new scene, a character showed up, whispered to my protagonist, “We have safe houses…
How and where is it best to enter into a particular story—which moment, which sounds and which smells should a…
Last month, a friend entrusted me with the privilege of skimming and commenting on her draft of a novel. Her…
Plots. So hard to conceive. So necessary to craft well. You’ll often hear writers talk about the struggle to tease…