I once called a writer friend and got the following voicemail greeting: “Pardons begged, we are presently truant and prevented from undertaking dialog with callers at present. After the modulation, please recite your sobriquet and cellular digit-string to better enable us an opportunity to reciprocate the honor of this summons.” The title of this article…
Category: General Interest
The Business of Patience
This one is about patience. Patience, that is, and hard work. Later this summer, Lake Union Publishing (an Amazon imprint) will publish The Swing of Things. The book represents five years of work by co-writers Linda Hull (former RMFW Writer of the Year) and Keir Graff, an award-winning writer, editor, and big cheese at Booklist. Together,…
Create Better Characters in Six Easy Steps
Readers may be intrigued by a good plot. But if your characters are interesting, readers will remember them long after they close the book. It can be tough to create fully fleshed-out, three-dimensional characters. But it’s much easier when you use the PERSON acronym: P is for Personality E is for Experiences R is for…
Running in place–are you ready?
Running in Place. This Denver Post headline caught my eye. The article discusses training for races by using a treadmill. It also describes the state I have found myself in several times during my writer’s journey. Running in place—waiting for a green light, waiting for the starting gun, waiting until the path clears and we…
Critique Groups, Part 1: Spotting Toxic Feedback
Over the course of several years (and several groups), I’ve experienced the joy that a healthy critique group can bring. It can invigorate your writing practice, inspire you to work harder, provide friends to celebrate (and commiserate) with, and help your writing skills flourish. But not all groups are created equal. Sometimes groups, or individual…