Let’s call this Monthly Mania Monday. This month—in case you’ve been living in a cave—you might not know it’s the upcoming November National Novel Writing Month. Are you doing NaNoWriMo? I’m not. That’s because a) I don’t have time, and b) I’ve already put in my obligatory decades of practicing… Read more“Gearing up for NaNoWriMo”
Tag: Writing Advice
Linking to P. G. Wodehouse
Today I’m bringing you one of my all-time favorite writers of comedy: the inimitable P.G. Wodehouse. It’s Friday, and I say, what the hell. I’m taking the weekend off from the publishing world, this madcap adventure in publicity, loquacity, and marketing perspicacity run amock. There is only so much eagle-eyed… Read more“Linking to P. G. Wodehouse”
Pulp Rag: Planting a suspicion, revealing a glory
A week or so ago I posted an essay on hook-development-climax that was almost entirely quotes from great works. I quoted hooks. And I quoted climaxes. I would have quoted development, but my fingers got tired. I wanted you to see exactly what constitutes a hook (why it’s short!) and… Read more“<em>Pulp Rag:</em> Planting a suspicion, revealing a glory”
Evaluating an editor
Hey, guys! Jane Friedman of Writer’s Digest has a post this morning containing links to a whole plethora of stuff on her blog about the world of writing and publishing. Why am I telling you this? Well, for one thing, Jane and I had a chat on Twitter the other… Read more“Evaluating an editor”
Pulp Rag: Going beyond the beyond
Have you ever seen the movie Flatliners? I’m normally not into horror movies—I get grossed out just by squashed bugs—but I love that movie. I love the concept of what’s beyond the beyond. . . Read the full essay on Pulp Rag.
Meeting the editor
What’s today—the first Monday of the month? Let’s call this Meet the Editor Monday. So, I woke up LOATHING my own fiction this morning. It’s a loathe-your-own-fiction kind of morning at our house today. Do you ever get that feeling? Here’s something you maybe don’t know about being a professional… Read more“Meeting the editor”
Pulp Rag: Mining yourself
There are no new stories, only new perspectives. Has anyone ever told you that?. . . Read the full essay on Pulp Rag.
Linking to the essays A.A. Milne
Now that I have completely polluted your minds with more business advice than you can possibly swallow, I’m bringing you a calming, refreshing mental yoga pose to get you through the weekend: The Essays of A.A. Milne. Milne, as we all know, was a fiction author. In fact, a children’s… Read more“Linking to the essays A.A. Milne”
Pulp Rag: Touching your reader’s core with resonance
Let’s talk resonance. Kathryn brought up a good point in the comments on that last post, Loving in the time of cholera. I was ranting about not introducing a pivotal character too late in your story, and she wanted to know: “When is too late too late?”. . . Read… Read more“<em>Pulp Rag:</em> Touching your reader’s core with resonance”
Querying
I try to stay up on the literary blogosphere. I read Twitter (never thought I would, but I do find a lot of links there). I check out posts on writing and querying and publishing. And I notice a remarkable thing—not a recent thing—but a stunning thing, when you think… Read more“Querying”