Hurry, save $50! Registration is open for the 2019 Colorado Gold Conference. If you haven’t yet registered, get to it—you’ll be so glad you did! One reason: the conference price goes up by $50 on July 31. Beat that date and save. If you’re already registered, welcome! This year’s conference has a powerful lineup of literary…
Tag: critique
Are your beta readers too nice?
For the first time in forever I’m not writing crime fiction. It’s a “regular” non-genre novel (whatever that is). Mainstream, I suppose. I’ve had many beta readers reading big chunks as it comes together—and I cannot thank them enough. I’ve had some excellent feedback, and I’ve been making adjustments as things progress. And then came last…
My Takeaways from the 2019 RMFW Annual Event
Writers really want to talk to people. We had a ton of people sign up for one-on-ones, including pitches, first pages, query letters, and synopses, as well as just talking shop. Those writers realized getting another set of eyes—especially experienced, professional ones—on their work can only benefit them. (Oh, and by the way, those professionals…
Remembered Words
In The Joy of Music, Leonard Bernstein wrote about Beethoven: “Imagine a whole lifetime of this struggle, movement after movement, symphony after symphony, sonata after quartet after concerto. Always probing and rejecting in his dedication to perfection, to the principle of inevitability. This somehow is the key to the mystery of a great artist: that…
The Impolitic Vagueness of English
I was re-reading Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, and toward the end I was struck by one line of dialog: “I could not have parted with you, my Lizzy, to anyone less worthy.” It is generally accepted that Mr. Bennet is saying that Mr. Darcy is most worthy to marry Elizabeth. But, given everyone’s prior…