Category: Contemporary Women Writers
Essential Writing and Editing Tips By Sheila O’Flanagan
Whenever I’m asked for my number one tip on writing, my response is always the same. Sit down in front of your computer, open whatever WP program you want to use, and start. This may sound glaringly obvious, but the truth is that until you have words on a page in front of you, there […]
Philosophy And Writing
Art is one of the most important game changers and is a reflection of our creativity in human life. In my own life, Salvador Dali is the artist who made me wonder more about ourselves and the World we live in. The first time I saw his paintings, I was so young. I can still […]
TO NATURE (AND NURTURE) YOUR WRITING by Savannah Hendricks
Last year, I had the opportunity to take a road trip to California and attend the Wrightwood Literary Festival. Never having been to the Wrightwood area I was excited about the adventure. I had no idea what to expect. Yet, it’s in California, right outside of the city, how different could it be? The flyer […]
Writing the “S Word”: Navigating Sex In Your Story
“I read your book. … After I read the sex scene, I had to go to confession.” That is what one of my college friends told me when he called our house to talk to my husband. Part of me was extremely happy about that, and part of me paused, realizing that friends and family […]
Five Weeks To Book Launch And How My Writing Practice Keeps Me Grounded
I am a woman with many morning practices, from skin care to yoga and meditation to blending a perfected breakfast smoothie, from walking my dog to writing long hand in my journal. Needless to say, I need to rise and shine pretty early in order to squeeze in these beloved rituals. Very often, I laugh […]
When Your Brain is the Enemy: Life as a Writer with ADHD
Writing and publishing a novel is an accomplishment few achieve, and those who do know how much work it is to make it to ‘the end.’ Countless hours of inspiration, plotting, writing, editing, re-editing, pulling one’s hair out, self-doubt, critique, and finally—finally—something ready to send out into the world. Now imagine doing all that when […]
‘Love, Heather’: This Isn’t Your Mamma’s High School
The main character of my new book, ‘Love, Heather’(Crooked Lane Books, coming out Oct 8th) is Stevie. She is an insufferable know-it-all, she’s funny, she’s infuriating, and she loves 80s and 90s movies. I loved writing Stevie, and she really was drawn from parts of me, and also added to parts of me in that […]
On Being A Published Author: The Fantasy Versus the Reality
The irony of releasing a second (or third, or fourth) book into the wild is that there is almost zero time left to create the words that allowed you to release a book. This is not something people tell you about in those blissfully ignorant unpublished years, when your fantasies about being published may include […]
Fear Itself By Erica Ferencik
Oprah chose Erica Ferencik’s debut novel, The River at Night as a #1 Pick, calling the book “the page-turning novel you’ve been waiting for, a heart-pounding debut.” Entertainment Weekly named it a “must read, a harrowing…a visceral, white knuckle rush.” Miramax has recently optioned the novel for film. The New York Times Book Review called Into the Jungle, one woman’s terrifying journey of survival in […]
Do You Feel Lucky?
Someone told me the other day that I’m lucky. I smiled and agreed. And then on the bus home I thought some more about luck; about what it is, if it’s in fact anything at all. And I realised that I’m no luckier than anyone else. It’s a choice. I choose to be lucky. I […]































Recent Comments