"Read, read, read. Read everything – trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You'll absorb it. Then write. If it's good, you'll find out. If it's not, throw it out of the window." – William Faulkner
During a beta read, I told the author whose MS I was reading that the plot unfolded without any surprises; it happened exactly as I first thought it would. I told her there weren't any twists in the plot. And, in short, she asked me if it needed a twist. And I didn't have a … Continue reading Every Story Needs a Twist
Almost every form rejection I've gotten has included a line on how subjective the publishing industry is, and I shouldn't feel disheartened that I didn't snag whichever agent I had queried and been subsequently rejected by. I shouldn't feel disheartened. But I do. Each rejection hammers the nail a little bit further in, each thud … Continue reading On Subjectivity
We've all had those amazing, brain-blasting moments where we write like the wind; the creative juice is flowing; the words keep coming; and you write into the wee hours of the morning. Likewise, we've all had those dull, brain-squeezing moments where it feels like we can't string two words together. Plot pieces aren't connecting. We … Continue reading On Recovering from Writer’s Block
