Writers’ Library:
Writing Craft
Over decades working as an editor, I’ve noticed areas where authors often struggle with their writing. Below are some of my most popular posts on these topics; it’s a good place to start if you’re looking for tools and insights to help address these areas. You can also check out the “categories” tag on my blog page to find more tips on other areas where you might be facing challenges in your writing. And you’ll find more resources–free downloadable guides and checklists, videos, and other writing resources–on my Editing Toolbox page.
This page is perennially updated, so check back for more posts, courses, and resources.
Character
- “How to Create a Strong Protagonist Who Drives Your Story Forward”
- “How to Deepen Character Goal and Motivation: The Longing and the Lack”
- “Is Your Protagonist Focused on the Wrong Goal?”
- “Creating Character Motivation: The Fallacy of Magical Knowing”
- “How to Let Readers Inside Your Characters’ Inner Life”
- “Revealing Other Characters’ Inner Life”
- “The Trick to Writing Compelling Character Inner Life”
- “You Don’t Need a Character Wound”
- “Fixing Flat Characters and Flat Stories”
- “Understanding Evil Characters and Writing Them Real”
- “The Best Character Tool You May Not Be Using”
- “Working Backward to Create Fully Fleshed, Compelling Protagonists”
- “Identity and Character Development”
- “How to Write Deeper Characters: The Secret Beneath the Surface”
- “Bring Scenes to Life with Nonverbals”
- “Writing Inclusive Stories and Diverse Characters”
Working Writer Course:
Plot
- “How to Plot a Novel: The Story Structure Milestones Every Writer Needs”
- “Diagnose Story Problems by X-raying Your Plot”
- “How Much Should You Plot Your Stories?”
- “Cohesion: The Key to Powerful Story”
- “5 Ways to Create Story Momentum”
- “Story Transitions and Connective Tissue: Techniques for Creating Seamless Narrative Flow”
- “Starting Your Story in the Right Place to Hook Readers”
- “Do You Know Your Central Story Question?”
- “Are Prologues Bad or Aren’t They?”
- “F*ck the Cat”
Working Writer courses:
“Five Foolproof Steps to an Airtight Plot”
Backstory, Flashback, and Context
- “How to Weave in Backstory without Stalling Out Your Story”
- “How Backstory Creates Story, Part 1: Mining Backward”
- “How Backstory Creates Story, Part 2: Building Forward”
- “How to Transition Into a Flashback (Without Pulling Readers Out of the Story)”
- “4 Questions to Ask When Writing Flashbacks”
- “Past, Present, and Future: Your Characters (and You) Live in All Three”
Working Writer courses:
“Seamlessly Weaving in Backstory without Stalling Out Your Story”
Point of View (POV)
- “How to Write Deep Third Person POV: Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them”
- “How Does the Storyteller Affect the Story?”
- “POV Review,” my free downloadable overview of each of the most common/popular POVs in modern fiction
Working Writer courses:
Showing and Telling
Editing and Revision
My main focus is editing; I’ve worked as a professional editor in the publishing industry for my entire career. Over the years I’ve developed tools and techniques to help authors learn to edit their own work–meaning to assess it objectively to see where it could be strengthened–as well as how to revise it to address those issues. In other words, how to find problems, and how to fix them. Here are some of my most popular posts, courses, and resources in those areas. Check back; I update this page ongoingly.
Self-editing
- “Please Don’t Revise Your Manuscript”
- “Anatomy of a Revision—Or, Surmounting the Suck”
- “Editing, Revision, and Giving Up on a Story”
- “Revision Isn’t Always Renovation”
- “The Three Perspectives of Effective Storytelling”
- “How to Kill Your Darlings”
- “Finding the Courage to Cut”
- “’Who’ or ‘Whom’? ‘Lay’ or ‘Lie’? A Former Copyeditor’s Guide to Grammatical Mastery”
- The “How Writers Revise” series on my blog features interviews with successful authors sharing their revision processes
- My free downloadable Self-editing Checklist offers an extensive list of questions to ask to help pinpoint where your manuscript may need strengthening
Training Your Editorial Brain
- “Analyzing What Makes Story Work or Not”
- “How to Read Like an Editor”
- “Analysis: How Storytelling Makes the Story”
- “Writers: Dissect Your DNFs”
- The “Analyzing Story” category on my blog features posts where I show how to asses various types of stories with an editorial eye
Working Writer course:
Hiring a Pro
- “Defining the Types of Edit and Deciding Which You Need”
- “Editors, Coaches, and Beta Readers: What’s the Difference, and What Do You Need?”
- “When Should You Hire an Editor?”
- “What Does a Developmental Editor Do? GPS and Map View”
- “What to Know When Hiring a Pro”
- “3 Things to Know When Hiring a Pro”
- My free downloadable “Get It Edited” guide helps you determine when you’re ready for an edit, and how to find, vet, and work with experienced, reputable editors
Working Writer course:
Feedback and Critique
- “Assessing Writing Feedback: Criticism, Commentary, and Critique”
- “How to Handle Critique of Your Work”
- “How to Utilize Critique and Incorporate It into Your Story”
- “How to Effectively Give Critique”
- “’Leave Me Alone—I Know What I’m Doing’”
- My free downloadable “Getting What You Need from Beta Readers” questionnaire template will help you solicit useful and actionable feedback from fellow writers and lay readers alike
Publishing
Most authors want not just to write their stories, but to share them. Publishing is more accessible and has more options for authors than ever before, but it also comes with challenges writers should be prepared to navigate if they want to understand the business and the market, weather the many ups and downs of the industry, and protect themselves and their writing. These posts offer insights from my decades working with major publishers and knowledge and experience of the industry.
Queries, Submissions, and Pitches
- “How Do You Know If You’re Ready to Query? A Practical Checklist”
- “How to Write a Query Letter, Part 1”
- “How to Write a Query Letter, Part 2: Intro, Synopsis, and Bio”
- “How to Talk about Your Writing (So People Want to Read It)”
- “How to Speak as Well as You Write, part 1”
- “How to Speak as Well as You Write, part 2”
- “How to Talk to Anyone about Your Writing (or Anything)”
- “Are you Writing Literary Fiction? (Spoiler: Probably Not)”
Protecting Yourself, Your Writing, and Your Career
Writing Career
Building a successful, satisfying career as a writer means treating it as both an art as well as a business. These posts offer insights on preparing yourself for the realities of creating a career in writing and publishing and navigating its many challenges, while taking control of your own career and maintaining a sense of autonomy in a business where it can often feel as if the artist has the least control over their art.
Career Building
- “The Happy Harsh Truths of a Writing Career”
- “How to Be a Working Writer”
- “How to Succeed as a Writer: Make a Concrete Plan”
- “How to Become a Bestseller”
- “How Do You Value Your Creative Work?”
- “Advocating for Yourself as a Writer”
- “Create the Career You Want”
- “What Will Your Writing Career Cost You?”
- “Reassessing Your Writing Career”
- “Looking Back to Plan Ahead”
- “Don’t Build Your Network”
Writing Life
In creating your work and your writing career it’s easy to forget that you are the instrument of your art (and business). Maintaining a healthy frame of mind, taking care of yourself, and learning to deal with the many obstacles writers may face—not just from external sources but from within—is essential to developing the resilience, persistence, and grit that are crucial for any author to succeed. These posts cover everything from dealing with self-doubt, “writer’s block,” and recognizing and avoiding self-sabotaging behaviors, to nourishing a healthy mindset, writing practice, and life.
Doubts and Demons
- “Attack of the Inner Demons”
- “A Rational Antidote for Emotional Thinking”
- “Wrangling Your Writer Demons in 4 Steps”
- “If You Feel Like Sh*t, Sit with It”
- “What If You Don’t Succeed as a Creator?”
- “The Dunning-Kruger Effect (Or, Dealing with Author Despair Syndrome)”
- “Is Fear the Artist’s Foe or Friend?”