This week, I follow up to last week’s advice to new writers. Whether you’ve been writing two decades or two seconds, it’s critical to keep working to get better. Here’s a few pointers I’ve learned along the way. Length. A story should be as long as it needs to be to tell the whole story – […]
Advice to New Writers – Part One
Lately I’ve been talking a lot to new writers. People who are ready to follow their dreams, to really sit down and do the work, but aren’t quite sure how to get there. The good news and the bad news is, all it takes is desire, persistence, and willingness to learn. Continuously. Writing is a […]
A Dilemma Solved
As most of you know already, the last few weeks I’ve been facing an interesting dilemma: namely, the possibility that I would have to choose between the Odyssey Writing Workshop (who already has my money) and the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards finalist trip. A small possibility, for certain – perhaps 6% statistically – but a […]
Heads up – Two Writing Contests
Much thanks to Matt Schafer for connecting me with the information. Here’s two upcoming writing contests you might want to check out: MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT SHELLEY PRIZE FOR IMAGINATIVE FICTION https://www.rsbd.net/NEW/index.php — $10 ENTRY FEE C/O Rosebud Magazine, N3310 Asje Rd., Cambridge WI 53523 Contest for original works of fantasy, science fiction, mystery, or horror, […]
Tension and Suspense
This week has had a lot of waiting. Waiting for the agent to get back to me to confirm receipt of my manuscript. Waiting for the Finalists call on Monday, on the off-chance I get it. And all the tension, the suspense, the wondering – all this waiting has got me thinking about how to […]
Squee! Manuscript Request
So Tuesday, a real live agent emailed me to ask to look at my full manuscript. Squee! I dropped everything and did a little happy dance and shrieked, and danced a bit more. Wait, let me back up. As most of you know, I made the Semis for the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award this year, […]
Raise the Stakes
The difference between a good story and a great one, the difference between a book you work through slowly and one you can’t put down, is largely the stakes. What do I mean by stakes? What your character or characters have on the line. Rather than a routine case, give your detective one that is […]
An Interesting Dilemma
For those of you who haven’t heard as of yet, I am a Semi-Finalist for the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards. This is awesome(!) but also leads to an interesting dilemma. I’ve made it into the Odyssey Writing Workshop, a pro-level six-week intensive held in a college during the summer. I’ve put down my money to […]
Happy Dance!
I found out Tuesday that I made the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards SemiFinalists! For those that don’t know, that’s top 50 out of 5,000. It’s a miracle, and a dream, and only one cut away from a trip to New York. I’ve said since January that this was going to be the year – and […]
Heads Up: Call for Submissions
University Press of North Georgia is looking for submissions for its upcoming Stonepile Writers’ Anthology. Here’s a copy of the post they put up this morning: Call for Submissions The University Press of North Georgia is now accepting submissions for Volume Two of the Stonepile Writers’ Anthology. The Stonepile Writers is a writing group based […]
