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...
Paula’s Elevator Pitch Formula

Paula’s Elevator Pitch Formula

Sep 7, 2020 | On Writing

The Elevator Pitch is that fabled 1-minute pitch you can rattle off whenever you find yourself in the company of someone who can help you publish your book: an editor, an agent, a published writer, etc. Whether you’re at a pitch slam or a hotel bar or in an actual...
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...
Writing Good First Lines: Think Theme

Writing Good First Lines: Think Theme

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...

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