How to Foreshadow with Finesse
The finesse of foreshadowing is knowing how much to use, and when. Too much and you’re hitting readers over the…
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What the Fonz Can Teach Us about Resilience
So many creatives work in their careers to build to the success they dream of, but what if you had…
How to Succeed as a Writer: Make a Concrete Plan
Take some time to think what you want out of your writing and writing career—not what you hope it may…
Looking Back to Plan Ahead
To create meaningful, actionable plans for our writing careers, we have to consider both aspects of successful “resolutions”: past/present and…
Celebrate Your Embarrassing Past
It’s so easy to look back at our earlier writing efforts and find nothing but the faults in it. But…
Finding the Courage to Cut
It’s terrifying to make big, substantive cuts in your story—even if you’re not happy with how it’s holding together. Taking…
Holiday Un-gift Guide (and the Best Nonwriting Books for Writers)
At this time of year many of us still want to show some of our nearest and dearest our love…
Push-button Publishing in a Fast-fiction World
A publishing company recently made a splash in publishing industry news by announcing that they hope to “disrupt” the book…
The Storyteller’s Holiday Survival Guide
The illusory standard of perfect harmony and togetherness can be so much of what might make the holiday feel stressful.…
How to Create Tension without Overt Conflict
If you’d like to receive my blog in your in-box each week, click here. I have a confession to make: I…
How Specifics Make Your Stories Universal
One of the observations I most frequently make with authors’ manuscripts in my editing work is that key elements may…
World Building—for Yourself and Your Characters (or, The Reality You Can Choose to Create)
Much of what happens in the world around us is not ours to control. Buddhists will tell you that suffering…