Happy summer! I hope you’re writing under a deck umbrella or blue sky or even better, a leafy tree. I’m doing some leafy writing, but I’m also critiquing my college students’ short fiction, and this endeavor has prompted me to discuss “filtering.” “See if you can reduce some of your filtering,” I comment over and…
Summertime is filled with celebrations of freedom. From Juneteenth and Pride Month in June, to the 4th of July and Bastille Day in July, to that glorious sense of freedom children feel on the last day of school in May or June (and which we all still feel inklings of, no matter how old we…
Would you rather: read the same book over and over for the rest of your life OR have to type out every book you read? Would you rather: publish your unedited middle school journals OR take a year of physical education as an adult? Would you rather: read your work in front of an audience…
When I write a first draft, I always give each chapter a title. Even something as trite as ‘How I Spent My Summer Vacation’ serves to focus and guide the writing. Think of each title as a separate tent into which you’re going to place a set of related ideas. When those tents are assembled…
Writing a compelling opening for your novel isn’t optional, it’s essential. That initial half-page of Chapter One is the first impression agents, publishers, and most important, readers get of your writing style and skill and often determines whether they’ll purchase your book or not. The good news is most people will give you a few…