A friend recently confessed that she was bored by a book she had read for a book club. Having just slogged through the same book myself, I agreed completely. As I writer, I knew exactly why the book didn’t work for me. But the woman I was chatting with couldn’t articulate why she hated the…
April is National Poetry Month, so in honor of that, I’m going to share one way that dabbling in poetry can help your fiction. Specifically, have you ever considered using poetry as a way to find distinct voices for your characters? Years ago, I attended a short workshop by Lance Larsen, poet laureate for Utah…
Brace yourself. Based on my highly unscientific survey of some fellow writers, there’s a good chance you’ve been formatting your paragraphs wrong. It’s not your fault—you can blame the default settings in your word processor. Although I’ve been writing professionally for many (MANY) years, I only recently learned that editors and publishers absolutely hate when…
I think it’s time to talk about filter words. I feel that filter words are sneaky. I look around and see them everywhere. I wonder if they’re unnecessary, because they seem to clutter up our writing. I remember how easily they can slip into our writing yet how hard they can be to delete. Yes,…
Are you wondering what to give the writer in your life this holiday season? If so, you’re in luck, because I’m updating my annual list of Holiday Gifts for Writers! Whether you’re looking for indulgences, inspirational gifts, or workspace upgrades, there’s bound to be something on this list that will brighten your writer’s day. Home…