Good critiquing is an art. With each draft, the work gets better and better, and the author becomes more aware and more confident of the elements necessary to tell a good story. But it’s not an easy process. The first time that I attended a critique group early in my writing career, I was terrified. I was writing contemporary mystery — and I’d never read part of a manuscript in front of anyone before. As I read the first five … Read More »

When I finished the draft of my first manuscript, I drove to Office Depot to have it printed.  I wanted to hold three and half years of work in my hands. It was exhilarating to flip through those 99,600 words, and yet, I had no idea what to do with them. Two months later, the universe threw me in the path of a published author who was kind enough to answer my questions. Can I get published by querying hundreds … Read More »

As writers we’re so focused on success (getting published) that we rarely give ourselves permission to simply write trash. The notion of transcribing something truly raw from our subconscious or filling pages with topics that’ll never be in a finished product is cringe-worthy. Take into account the growing constraints on our daily lives — work responsibilities, family obligations, and social commitments — and suddenly any free time we have needs to be spent finishing a polished poem or short story … Read More »

Establishing a habit as a writer can be tremendously freeing. It allows writers to settle in and let the words flow for whatever time is available to them. But like all else in the world, there’s a good thing and a good thing gone too far. Which is which in the process of writing? Why Establishing a Writing Habit Is Important Establishing a habit related to writing gets words on the page consistently. It benefits the writer’s identification of self. … Read More »

Do you have a favorite quote, famous saying, or inspirational message in view as you write? How about scraps of paper with words of encouragement taped to your desk? I have a few of these—some old, some new. I love them. I need them. I keep them in plain sight to feed my soul, calm my mind, and keep my fingers moving words into being. A few of my favorite things Here are a few bits within reading distance of … Read More »

Virginia Woolf strikes a pose—in my imagination. She looms large in many writers’ minds as a genius memoir writer and fiction writer, a most important author of the 20th century. She was a founding member of the famed soiree “Bloomsbury Group,” a revolving-door-meetup of writers, philosophers, intellectuals, and artists who regularly shared their work in a part of London called Bloomsbury, hence their name. I imagine it was a writers’ critique group on steroids. Moments of being Whether we are … Read More »