fiction
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When I was hard pressed for time – and there can be many reasons, most often a day job and/or small children, an ailing parent, etc. – I learned to write in 10 minute increments. I know writers (and am most emphatically not one) who get up at 4 am to write for two hours…
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No, your story’s not the Titanic (though there will be days you fear it is). This picture is what your story looks like. The top? The words on the page. Then there’s what is under the surface. For one thing, you can see that the reader is going to not only bring their own stuff…
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In the past six months, I’ve had my hair blown out straight a few times and at first I loved it, but then discovered that I don’t feel like me without curly hair. That got me thinking about ways to reveal character. What’s a small change that would make your protagonist uncomfortable… not even uncomfortable,…
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Do you pay attention to including sound when you write? I was discussing this with another writer and both of us default to the visual. If we need a creative person in the narrative, they are invariably a painter because we know something of that world (she was married to an artist). She’s going to…
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Was talking to S the other day who said they (the infamous “they” again!) were telling a writing class that their first screenplay (in this case) would be bad. I’ve heard the same warning to new authors too, as if they should toss their first book. Sometimes it’s true. Sometimes it’s not. And what if…
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The novel I just finished writing is a dark comedy about a group of siblings prematurely vying for their inheritance. I read a number of comic novels that dealt with crazy families, estates and wills, fights over money, etc. All of the authors taught me something useful and I found the process of annotating (nudge, nudge,…
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Thanks to C Hope Clark, I found a helpful blog by an agent. There are a number of them out there and they are helpful, so take some time and Google around. If you’re looking for an agent, take the time to read these few posts and be prepared. A day in the life of…
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An essential element for good writing is a good ear: One must listen to the sound of one’s own prose. – Barbara Tuchman I’ve found that I’m not alone in the experience of writing at least in part because I didn’t have a voice growing up. Many find their voice when they escape their families…
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A friend who’s writing a book – a ‘publish or perish’ tenure track type of book – asked me if I have any tips on finishing. Well… not really. I mostly need help in the great chaotic middle when it looks like the entire book is going to fall apart and I’ve just wasted months…
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What do James Frey and Pontius Pilate have in common? “What is truth?” was Pilate’s famous question. Neither one is clear that truth exists. Frey’s opinion is not surprising given his opinions as related in a recent New York magazine article (which caused a lot of outrage among my writer friends for his factory): Frey…
Diane Sherlock 
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