I Was a Guest Speaker at Writers' Block I was invited to speak at Writers' Block, a group of young people studying the craft of writing. When I asked what the group wanted to learn about, the answer came back overwhelmingly that they wanted to learn more about the publishing side of writing. As I … Continue reading Advice For Young Writers: How To Get Published
Creative Writing
What Is Slow Writing and Why Is It Good For You?
My Definition of Slow Writing I had an interesting time putting this post together. Normally, when I write a post like this I do a little research to help me find others who share a similar opinion. But when I looked for slow writing on several search engines, I didn’t find much. I found some … Continue reading What Is Slow Writing and Why Is It Good For You?
What Is Authentic Writing?
Remembering Why We Became Writers As I'm working on my second nonfiction book about writing, one of the themes I keep returning to is authentic writing. As a writer, editor, and publisher, I feel as if authentic writing has been pushed aside in favor of writing as quickly as possible, publishing as quickly as possible, … Continue reading What Is Authentic Writing?
Finding My Writing Flow
Mike Tinnion from Unsplash It's Easy to Be Distracted From Writing With all of the stresses in the world these days, there are times when I have to reach a bit to find my creativity. Some days, especially when writing is a struggle, I worry that I have used up every ounce of creativity I … Continue reading Finding My Writing Flow
Room For Freedom When Writing Fiction
Photo by Patrick Tomasso from Unsplash I Was a Guest Speaker for the Lit Mag Love Course! For my first bit of news, on Tuesday, 3/1, I had the chance to participate in a Q&A for Rachel Thompson's course Lit Mag Love, which helps writers who want to submit their work to literary journals. I … Continue reading Room For Freedom When Writing Fiction
How To Avoid Clichés Like the Plague
Photo by Debby Hudson for Unsplash Writing is Rarely Easy For someone who loves to write as much as I do, I find writing quite hard. I love that saying from Thomas Mann: "A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people." After all, who else but a writer … Continue reading How To Avoid Clichés Like the Plague
The Challenges of Writing a Time-Travel Story
Photo by Dan Meyers on Unsplash Where Did the Time Travel Inspiration Come From? I have a tendency to come up with story ideas a lot faster than I write them. I mean a lot faster. Fans of When It Rained at Hembry Castle know that I came up with the idea for that book … Continue reading The Challenges of Writing a Time-Travel Story
When I Nearly Gave Up Writing For Good
Rediscovering My Connection To Writing A few days ago I was reading the wonderful website Writers in the Storm and I came across this post about the writing resolution that changed the writer’s attitude and ultimately changed her writing career. I nodded a lot as I read the piece because, although the specifics of my … Continue reading When I Nearly Gave Up Writing For Good