A friend is getting ready to teach an online college-level course about “the business of creative writing.” He asked me for any strategies I would suggest along those lines and to pass along “things I’ve learned.” His prompt led me to write this note, below. Here’s what I sent him. ++ Things I’ve learned ……
Whether you’re waiting for an agent to offer representation, an editor to accept your short story or simply for the snow to melt, killing time can feel just that: vicious. Like the weather, there is little about this industry we as writers can control. We put words on the page or screen. We try again,…
Most writers are familiar with writer’s block. It is the painful moment when words no longer flow freely on the page. For me, writing fiction has always been an oasis, a safe place to explore my thoughts and feelings. When I first started writing, I wrote only for myself, scribbling in notebooks or on scraps…
I spin tales, conjure up characters, and bleed ink on the page (metaphorically, of course, although I’ve had a few paper cuts in my day that made my pages a bit more “colorful”). Since my go-to question when writer’s block strikes is always why, it seems only natural to turn that same lens on myself….
February, being Black History Month, I’ve listed a few authors that have not only taught me, but inspired me. 1950 Gwendlyn Brooks was the first black author to win a Pulitzer Prize. She received the prize for her poetry collection, Annie Allen. https://stacker.com Alice Walker is an activist and author best known for her critically…