Writing Lessons from the Garden

Writing Lessons from the Garden

Oct 20, 2020 | On Writing

During this wild and crazy pandemic year I planted my first potager garden. Something I’d always planned to do but finally managed to pull off. Like writing my first novel. I learned a lot, and a lot of what I learned applied to writing as well as gardening. You amend...
The Organizing Principle, for Fun and Profit

The Organizing Principle, for Fun and Profit

Sep 22, 2020 | On Writing

One of the most often overlooked tools in the storyteller’s toolbox is the organizing principle. All kinds of stories can benefit from organizing principles—from memoir and literary fiction to creative nonfiction and genre fiction. An organizing principle is not the...
Publishing Proverbs You Should Know

Publishing Proverbs You Should Know

Jul 6, 2020 | On Writing

Publishing is rife with conventional wisdom but some of it is actually useful. Here are some of the best. The first page sells the book, the last page sells the next book. I repeated this recently at a Zoom event and like an old dog full of old tricks I was surprised...
Reading for Novelists: Top 10 Books about Writers

Reading for Novelists: Top 10 Books about Writers

Jun 1, 2020 | On Writing

Like all the writers I know, I’ve been reading a lot during this pandemic, for comfort and consolation and even comic relief. New novels, old classics, perennial favorites—many of which are about writers. I was reminded of this reading Lily King’s WRITERS & LOVERS...

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