Jun 15, 2021 | On Writing
Start with characters. “Action is character.” ― F. Scott Fitzgerald Start with action. “Get your character in trouble in the first sentence and out of trouble in the last sentence.” ― Barthe DeClements Put your characters in motion. “All fiction is about people,...
Jan 19, 2021 | On Writing
Keeping a series fresh and fun is a challenge—and it does not get any easier. As I sit down to write Book Four in my Mercy Carr series, I find myself rethinking everything I’ve learned about writing a series so far—often the hard way—and reminding myself of key...
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...
Jul 10, 2019 | On Writing
First lines matter. For readers, they’re a welcome sign, the promise that they’re in for a satisfying reading experience. For agents and editors, they’re proof that you know how to open a story in a way that keeps readers reading. If you don’t nail those opening...
