A Velcro Moment is a bit of writing that sticks with a reader. Velcro, you probably know, is a strip of fabric with tiny “hooks” that “mate” with another fabric strip that has smaller loops. These strips attach to each other, until pulled apart. (Thank you, Wikipedia.) Isn’t Velcro a perfect image to illustrate readers getting hooked on your writing? How do we make our writing unforgettable? National Book Award winner, Barry Lopez, offered gems of advice about this a … Read More »

On January 22, 1999, I attended a writerly event at the University of Central Florida: “Distinguished Author Series: Margaret Atwood.” Yes, THE famous Margaret Atwood. You may know that Atwood, a Canadian, authored the best-selling, horrifying, dystopian novel, The Handmaid’s Tale (1985), which television producers — with their sights on America’s currently inflamed neurosis — are feeding the airwaves as a television series for all the world to watch. But in 1999 when I was standing in the aisle to … Read More »

A writer aiming to self-publish her first book treated me to coffee recently to “pick my brain” about the marketing plan I used to promote my self-published book. I wasn’t sure how much I could help her. There is no one-size-fits-all approach. Each book, depending on its genre and target audience, requires its own personal marketing plan—like a custom-tailored suit. My book, I reminded her, is a memoir. Hers is a cookbook! But for the pleasure of her company—and free … Read More »

Besides the satisfaction of seeing our words published, what other basic characteristic might writers have in common? Hint: it makes publication possible. Annie Dillard lays it out for us in her book, The Writing Life, when she relays a mini-story of a fellow writer who had a student who asked, “Do you think I could be a writer?” “Well,” the writer said, “do you like sentences?” We don’t find out what the student thought or did after that answer, but … Read More »

Do you yearn for a better way to organize your writing projects? Do you have a big one to manage, such as a novel or memoir? Does publishing your work seem like an impossible dream? Let me share a method that helped me. A few years ago, while I was writing my memoir, a friend told me about a little book, The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller with Jay Papasan. The book includes … Read More »

Calling all writers—get out. Stroll, pace, or wander. We give the page a piece of our mind, let’s give our bodies a push out the door. Even a quick fifteen-minute walk can bring unexpected writerly gifts. Note: I have mixed feelings about this post. As I write, fires and floods devour parts of the country. Hawaii’s recent volcanic eruption is producing toxic air. Some people are in respiratory crisis, making a leisurely walk outdoors prohibitive. In other places on the … Read More »