The Writer’s Desk

Recently I saw a Facebook meme that showed a picture of Vlad the Impaler, and the caption read, “Vlad didn’t start impaling until after he 30. It’s never too late to start.” Not that I recommend a career in impaling, yet now is as good as any time to begin writing. On my 60th birthday,…

Writing conferences are great places to hone your craft, connect with professionals, and commune with like-minded souls. I often say “my friends and family don’t mind that I write; they just don’t want to hear about it.” But like any business conference, there are strategies to help maximize the benefits. Pace yourself The first conference…

Picture this scene: A group of teens is playing a game of Monopoly. The four kids chat amiably as they roll dice and move their game pieces around the board. One kid erupts in with glee when he draws a “get out of jail card.” Another kid is forced to sell his hotels. It’s a…

I don’t have all the answers, and there is no universally appealing story, but there are elements in books that hold massive appeal and end up on best seller lists. Many of these novels and memoirs are not particularly well written, yet there is something intangible that grabs the reader and doesn’t let him go…

Do you have other creative interests besides writing? Whether you whittle, do crafts, or play music, that creative effort enhances writing by opening channels in your brain to your imagination. Before I began writing in earnest, I pursued a degree in visual art. Since then, I obtained a more employable master’s degree in library media…

Recently I bought a book by Chuck Wendig of Writer’s Digest called Gentle Writing Advice: How To Be A Writer Without Destroying Yourself. Wendig uses lots of profanity, so if swearing offends you, this is not your book. Since I am not easily offended, I forged ahead with it. An important idea he tackles is,…

While each of us has individual taste in literature, according to Cheryl Klein in The Magic Words, there are universal qualities evident in good books. Her guide focuses on children’s and YA lit, yet these attributes apply to all stories. Good Prose The diction and syntax have strength and integrity, with a discernable voice. Voice…

A few years ago, I took a one-week poetry workshop at Kenyon College with David Baker. In that short summer class Baker shared a semester’s worth of his knowledge with the dozen or so of us new and accomplished poets. I was, and still am, a fledgling poet, yet I periodically take poetry workshops in…

When a protagonist makes a bad decision, it creates conflict for himself and others, and this tension is what makes us want to keep turning pages. Events alone are not stories. A series of events can become a story, but there must be motivation, struggle and resolution. Example: A girl and her brother head to the…

Imagine you see a short story, or an entire novel that begins with: “Shut up!” he proclaimed. “NO!” she intoned. “Why not?” he shouted in a fierce tone. “Because.” “Because why?” “Because I don’t want to,” she said, sneeringly. The above passage has several problems. First, it’s dull. This is the kind of conversation you…

Often, I hear from participants in my workshops, “I don’t know where to begin.” With any new venture, be it fencing, baking or playing chess, you will not be an instant expert. In fact, you will likely be terrible at it. With writing you have the slight advantage of being literate in that you know…

Congratulations! You wrote a book and you’re now a superhero. Whether you’re traditionally or self-published, here are a few things to keep in mind: You can’t please everyone. The more copies of your books sell, the greater the risk of negative reviews. Since sites like Amazon and Goodreads allow the everyday reader a voice, there…

The weather outside is frightful, but as a writer, the weather can always be balmy on the page. This time of year, I just want to stay curled under my duvet where it’s warm, where dreams can take me to the Bahamas or the Mediterranean, but life forces us to face the cold, cloudy world….

Like many kids, I required a bedtime story each night before I’d agree to go to sleep. In elementary school my favorite times, besides art on Friday afternoon, were when the teacher or librarian read us stories out loud. I have never outgrown my love of hearing a story and am a huge fan of…

Many of you may be preparing for the annual November nanowrimo challenge of writing a novel in 30 days, aka National Novel Writing Month. It’s a great way to block out the dark, dreary, rainy days and sink inside a story of your own. The rough draft of my 2016 debut novel began as a…

I’m not a gamer, and If I hadn’t enjoyed Gabrielle Zevin’s previous book, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, I may never have opted to read Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, a novel about video game designers. With my short attention span, I avoid long books, but one of the best novels ever written is…

Just like our bodies, stories have a core; it’s the moment near the center where what the story is really about is cemented. Write Your Novel from the Middle by James Scott Bell describes this as “like popping open the hood and showing writers how they can be intentional about the story.” According to Bell,…

When Jordan Peele said, “It’s impossible to work in this industry without having scars.” Peele was referring to the film business, but the same principle applies to book writing. Every successful (and unsuccessful) writer carries scars from criticism, rejection, bad reviews and failure. The odds of getting work traditionally published are staggeringly low (6,000 to…

Epic Group Writers recently hosted an in-person celebration for winners of its annual contest, and the finalists read their entries out loud. As an audience member I took pleasure in hearing their poems and stories. Perhaps I enjoy being read to because it takes me back to when my parents told us bedtime stories. In…

French impressionist Claude Monet is known for painting the same subjects over and over, such as his more than 30 versions of haystacks at different times of days and seasons. Monet’s obsessions led him to dig deeply through texture and light to reveal all aspects of an ordinary haystack. Series writers are similarly obsessed with…

In Ray Bradbury’s Zen in The Art of Writing, he asks,” What does writing teach us?” “… [writing] reminds us we are alive ….and writing is survival…while art cannot, as we wish it could, save us from wars, privation, envy, greed, old age, or death, it can revitalize us amidst it all.” What Bradbury confirms…

I love films about writers. A good indie movie, The Magic of Belle Isle, is directed by Rob Reiner and stars Morgan Freeman as a writer who has stopped writing. Freeman’s character, an award-winning Western writer named Monte, tells his nephew, “Drinking is my full-time job now, and I can’t work two jobs.” I like films…

During my teaching career, teachers were expected to operate under the mantra Failure Is Not an Option. This always struck me as flawed because how do we learn if we don’t fail? Writers fail, and fail often, yet our failures make us better. Right now, I’m teaching myself screenwriting in order to adapt portions of…

Rejection is part of writing. It hurts when you open that e-mail or envelope and read, “Sorry…we don’t have a place for your work.” It takes elephant hide and steely nerve to be a writer, and yet you’re not a real writer until you have been rejected. Some rejections are downright rude, like the one…

In 2020, I presented a session on Making it to the Finish Line at the Write on the Sound (WOTS) conference. During Q&A near the end, in the chat feature someone asked about what I meant by doing a reverse outline during revisions. I was pressed for time and the monitor had already given me…