Should You Write “to the Market”?
Knowing what you want in this business is one of the most important factors in creating a writing career that…
Inspiration
“Seeing Myself *Like* Myself Is Pretty Damn Good”
It’s always a little surprising when we hear that people we admire, or who have achieved success by standard metrics,…
When the World Sucks Your Creativity: Zoom In and Zoom Out
If you’d like to receive my blog in your in-box each week, click here. This morning I received an email from…
Is It Worth It?
Recently I worked with an author on a first-chapters critique of the opening 50 pages of her manuscript. After our…
What If Your Creative Flame Is Flickering?
Forging a career in publishing, as I’ve often written and spoken about, often encompasses an endless series of ups and…
Take Back Your Own Story
Imagine starting your career in your early twenties at the very highest rungs of the ladder, having won a coveted,…
Fail Hard and Take It Easy
Writing starts out as pure enjoyment, but it’s a skill that is far more involved and complex than it may…
The Luxury of Tomorrow
How many days do you put off or cut short your creative time because you know you have the luxury…
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…
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…