Happy New Year! And what a better way to start than tackling one of the knottiest issues in writing: voice. We were born with a voice. So why is it many manuscripts get rejected because an agent/editor says there’s no voice? Then we authors go off frantically searching for our voice as though we’d misplaced it somewhere. The truth of the matter is that you have a voice. It’s just that, often, an author’s voice doesn’t work for a number … Read More »

Like many writers I have a drawer full of beautiful journals — some too beautiful to abuse with my plain Anglo-Saxon words. If you have a writer on your gift-giving list here are a few gift ideas other than journals and pens. 1. Books. (Duh!) Writers are coveters of books. If you’re not sure which book to get, let me suggest a couple of titles. Tony Hoagland’s The Art of the Voice, Jane Yolen’s Take Joy, Stephen King’s On Writing, … Read More »

Let’s take a little time and talk about rhyme. So, if I were to take that first line and divide it into two end-stopped lines of poetry: Let’s take a little time/and talk about rhyme I’d have the classic end-stopped exact rhyme we were introduced to as children. Rhyme can be that simple—and that ho-hum. However, if used in a more complex way rhyme can heighten the musicality of your writing. There is a great deal one can say about … Read More »

Poems are not short stories. This may seem like an obvious statement, but so many times I see struggling writers that seem to think they need a beginning, a middle and an end in a poem — all things needed by story writers. Yes, there are certainly poems that are more narrative in nature, like ballads and epics. Many of these form the backbone to Western literature, like Homer’s tales, Beowulf, Spenser’s The Faerie Queene, Milton’s Paradise Lost, etc.  But … Read More »

Intention: that’s an important word. When we shake the cobwebs out and make a resolution to start a new project, we are solidifying our intentions. But, like the Roman god Janus, intention is a two-faced concept. It makes all the difference in the world— and, ultimately, none. Let me explain … Where to begin When I write, intention is critical. Crafting characters, I need to know what each one’s intentions are so I can intertwine them and build the overall … Read More »

Okay, you’ve slogged through a difficult — even hellish — first draft (or two). Your plots are working (external and internal voyages), and your characters have depth. Good. And now you need a break. You’re in luck! Now it’s time to play. That is, to play a kind of hide & seek with words that are precise, revealing, elegant, multi-faceted and, even, incantatory. In essence: the right words. It will be fun because, if you’re like most writers, you come … Read More »