Category: How To and Tips
Value of Writing a WIP article Midway in Your Novel Plotting a Mystery: Celebrant Sleuth
Midway through a long novel, when I’m stuck, I write a WIP (work-in-progress) article to add sub-plots, deepen characters and explore even the weirdest ‘What if?’ possibilities. Usually it gets me writing original fiction again. And it’s also a useful reminder for PR interviews after publication when asked ‘What were the challenges of writing this […]
Swipe Right? Whether Or Not To Date Your Second Novel
Who are you? Why are you nothing like the profile of you I imagined? And what are you doing in my story? These are questions I find myself asking almost every day as I toil over my second novel – the legendary tricksy, troublesome second novel. Surely writing it cannot and should not be harder […]
How Your Writing Can Inspire Your Kids
Recently, a fellow writer posted about the challenges of balancing motherhood and writing, especially when you have young kids who make constant demands on your time. Her struggles resonated with me, because it’s something I’ve experienced and I’m sure she and I are not alone. I suspect any writer with children has faced these issues. […]
What’s Wrong Now?
I like to worry. It’s one of my hobbies. I might as well list it on my CV, because it’s something I spend a lot of time doing. (Actually, this is horrible advice. Don’t add things to your resume just because you wind up doing them a lot. No one wants to see ‘sleeping’ in […]
My Artist & Writer’s Workbook 2018—A Yearly Review Process
At the end of every year, I review where my writing has taken me over the past twelve months. This process provides me with a mirror of realities I might not have been aware of yet, because what’s in my mind is often quite different from what has actually transpired. I have found, for example, […]
Bookish Resolutions for the New Year
Making a resolution to “read more” in the New Year is a common goal. As writers, reading not only helps you discover new worlds and comparative titles, there are lots of side benefits, too! After all, reading improves your quality of life, along with making you more employable and empathetic. We all know we should begin to mount […]
Facing My Own Character: When a Fiction Writer Turns to Memoir
A week after my family and I fled Bali and flew back to the states, I met my literary agent for lunch at Todd English’s Olives restaurant. Over fig and prosciutto flatbread, we talked about my future. I asked him if he thought I should continue writing my new novel about a character who can’t […]
When I Grow Up
I’ve spent the majority of my life wondering what I’d be when I finally grew up. As a kid I thought I wanted to be a paleontologist, digging up fossils and bones, solving mysteries about the world I lived in. Then my mom informed me I’d have to go weeks without a proper bath during […]
Taming The Novella
I write long-form fiction, around 100,000 words, and I’ve published six of these full-length novels in the form of two trilogies. In my hand, the books are chunky and pleasingly real. I’m in my stride, in the zone where I can be as complex as I like. Each of my characters goes on a journey […]
Blogging A Path to Enlightenment
My debut novel is set to release on February 1st, 2018. I’ve worked hard to get here. Now, all I have to do is find a way to spread the word. Easy, right? Well… According to Steven Piersanti, President, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, “… the number of new books published each year in the U.S. has exploded […]
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