In the comments section of my post on How to Critique Other Writers’ Work, a debate ensues. When using the sandwich approach (two slices of positive feedback with a glob of criticism in the middle), do the positive and critical parts of your sandwich need to be equal? If a manuscript needs a lot of [...]
How to Critique Other Writers’ Work
Jul 21st, 2010
A post by my friend Sierra about her toxic critique group inspired me to remind people how to give critiques of other writers’ work in a writers’ group or workshop.
The sandwich method always works best: Start by saying something positive, followed by your constructive criticism, and then end with another positive comment. The reason for [...]
12 Ways to Overcome Writer’s Block
Jun 24th, 2010
Many people think they never get writer’s block. They see writer’s block as this weird disease that only people like Hemingway got once they had published ten books and had run out of things to say. But almost every writer I know has days when she sits down at her computer and doesn’t want to [...]
Link Love
Jun 11th, 2010
Links!
The Wall Street Journal has a great article about vanity press going digital.
Meg Waite Clayton has a great series of posts on how writers get started. Start with Part I and read all six!
After the New Yorker released its 20 Under 40 list (I’m honored to know three of them—Daniel Alarcón, Yiyun Li, and ZZ [...]
My Writing Journey
Jun 10th, 2010
Some of my earliest memories are of my mom and dad reading books—my dad political fiction and biographies and my mom historical fiction and romance novels. I think my mom spent every minute she wasn’t cooking a meal or cleaning the house lying in bed with a book. At the age of six I remember [...]
Personal Branding
Jun 8th, 2010
When I was a kid, I ate a lot of peanut butter, always creamy smooth Jif. I didn’t like Skippy or any other brand. Only Jif. When I moved to Paris, this small American grocery store run by a Lebanese couple near my apartment was the only place I could find peanut butter, but it [...]
Memoir Monday: The Metaphor
Jun 4th, 2010
A hallmark of literary fiction and memoir that distinguishes them from genre fiction is figurative language. While genre fiction (mystery, sci-fi, chick lit, fantasy) focuses mostly on plot and narrative, literary fiction focuses more on character and style, and style is often achieved through the use of fancypants language like metaphors and similes. I am [...]
Link Love
May 31st, 2010
It’s been three weeks since I posted links! So here we go …
In random tech/social media news: Here are 10 Tips for being awesome online, a post on how to get more Twitter followers, and the best book editors on Twitter.
In all things iPad: From the New York Review of books, the iPad vs the [...]
What Aren’t We Happy?
May 27th, 2010
This isn’t exactly a post about writing, but most of us want to be happy. In fact, I’d venture to say that EVERYONE wants to be happy. And many of us write because it makes us happy, or because we think getting our books published will make us happy. I was tutoring a student for [...]
101 Ways to Avoid Writing
May 26th, 2010
All writers, particularly when they are faced with a difficult scene/chapter to write, have their favorite ways of procrastinating. But for those of you who are tired of procrastinating the same way all the time, and need some new, fresh ideas, I’ve compiled a list to help you in your times of need:
1. Blog
2. Do [...]
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