First Page Critique
I’m currently teaching my First Five Pages class at Lawson Writer’s Academy (psst – you can still sign up!) I love helping writers strengthen their all-important openings. Joe Zarek is one of my past students, and has agreed to allow me to share his ‘before and after’ first page. Kudos to him for working so…
Read MoreGetting Busy – Remember How?
Okay, this is a weird post for me. Anyone who knows me will tell you – I am an organized person. I plan. I schedule. I get more out of a day than anyone. That used to be true. But then the pandemic hit. Our lives slowed. Shrunk. Plans went in the crapper. And now…
Read MoreWriting Wisdom from the Best Sellers
I collect wisdom quotes. One subsection of that is writing wisdom. And some of the best comes from the best. Here’s a sampling for your edification & inspiration: Neil Gaiman: ‘Remember: When people tell you something’s wrong or doesn’t work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think…
Read MoreWhen ‘In Medias Res’ Works, and When it Doesn’t
You may have heard conventional writer wisdom dissing action beginnings: car crashes, police chases – everything bad happening at the opening, right up to and including Armageddon. I’m not here to do that. I mean, think about it. Thousands of movies start that way, right? Remember though, movies are visual storytelling. They are usually faster-paced…
Read MoreRandom Recommendations for Writers
You know when you tell your friends about the latest life hack you discovered? This is the writer equivalent. The coolest, bestest stuff I can’t live without. And no, no one paid me for an endorsement – these are things I believe in. Blogs & Info: The Passive Voice – ‘a lawyer’s thoughts on authors,…
Read MoreAuthor as Brand in 2021
I was alerted to the following video, and if you have the time, watch it. Totally agree with Alexa Donne: The good, the bad, the ugly. I’m going to address them backwards (because, as with my books, I’ll never leave you in a bad place). Oh, and by the way, this will be mostly slanted…
Read MoreQueries – They’re Not Just for Agents
I’m teaching my Submissions That Sell! class at Lawson Writers Academy the whole month of March (click the link to check it out). When you think of queries and submissions, you think agent, right? But nowadays a query is good for a lot more than that. You can use it to submit to small presses…
Read MoreNo blogging today
Sorry everyone, for the first time, I’m going to have to skip the blog on a Monday morning. The snowpocalypse dictated that I got nothing done last week. We are thankful, it could have been much worse, but we were without water for four days, and I’m still cleaning up. Thinking of those with broken…
Read MoreOptions to Stay Organized
I am a naturally organized person. Before I married the Chaos of the Universe, I used to be able to find anything I owned in the dark! My bookshelves are by author, then title order, and my counters are clutter-free. I don’t get credit for the skill – I came in with it. But I…
Read More‘Meaty’ Stories, and How to Write One
I watched The Dig on Netflix last night, after several writer friends told me it was good. It was, and it got me thinking about stories that you think are about one thing, but are really about something else. Spoiler alert – I will tell the ending! If you haven’t seen it, here’s the trailer:…
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