A while back agent-turned-author Nathan Bransford did a “Five Openings to Avoid” post that takes a jab at some of the obvious and overused openings that circulate, especially among novice writers.
You know, the story that starts with a character … Read more
Yesterday, the third official National Day on Writing, was a huge success! You definitely don’t want to miss out on hearing from five writers via the National Writing Project’s blogtalk radio show. Listen to the show online here. I’m … Read more
What does a movie about a sleazy lawyer have to do with plotting a novel?
Last night the husband and I watched The Lincoln Lawyer with Matthew McConaughey (from Longview, Texas, where I went to high school). I tend to … Read more
My brother sent me this photo of a fortune he got at a local restaurant. I think it’s the most useful fortune I’ve ever seen–our Chinese buffet doesn’t offer us anything near as handy in its fortunes– usually I get … Read more
People talk a lot about voice in writing. Voice is that hard-to-describe quality in a piece of writing that is at once internally consistent and capable of generating surprises. It’s not the same as character or personality; it’s a kind … Read more
The National Writing Project (which revolutionized my teaching and writing life) invited me to participate in their events for the national day on writing, October 20. Yay!
Recently I blogged about my favorite high-tech writing tool, Scrivener. Today, though, a bit about the benefits of going low-tech–at least some of the time.
It’s not just me, either. Award-winning author Neal Stephenson describes how writing with an … Read more