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Is Your Writing Good Enough?

Do you ever wonder if your writing is good enough? Like, every day? Do you sometimes wonder whether it’s not the publishing industry but YOU that is the problem? That maybe you don’t have it in you to succeed as a writer? That maybe you should have gone to law school after all? You could, […]

Butt in chair stick-to-it-iveness

This week I’m reposting one of my favorite posts—because I think we all need to be reminded now and then of the importance of keeping our butts in the chair.

I’m writing again for the first time in weeks and finding it difficult to sit still in my chair. Today I thought about what works […]

Are You Listening to All the Wrong Voices?

Today I’d like to welcome guest blogger Laura Joyce Davis, who is here to talk to us about shutting out those nagging voices that tell us to do the laundry, make more money, and clean out the basement—instead of doing what we’re meant to be doing—writing.

Laura Joyce Davis was the winner for fiction […]

The Writerland Challenge: Week Three Check-in

It’s time for our week three Writerland Challenge check-in! Yes, it is nearly time for our week four check-in, but my brain went on vacation last week while I ate way too much food, went to the Dickens Faire in San Francisco (which I highly recommend—it runs for four more weekends), roasted marshmallows at a […]

The Writerland Challenge: Week Two Check-in

Okay, challengers! How did Week Two go? Better than week one? Worse? I’ve been cheating, writing no words one day and double the next, and I’m not proud of it. Daily writing is a habit that takes a lot of discipline, and I need to work harder at it. That said, I’m writing a lot […]

The Writerland Challenge: Week One Check-in

Okay, Challengers! It’s time to check in! How did the first week of your Writerland Challenge go? I want to quote the wonderful Martha Borst, from whom I took a seminar a few years ago. Martha is wonderful, and her book, Your Survival Strategies Are Killing You, covers everything in her seminar if you want […]

Forget NaNoWriMo—Take The Writerland Challenge

Let’s Set Our Own Writing Goals This Month Yesterday marked the first day of the 14th annual National Novel Writing Month, and I wish all participants the very best success. For those of you who, like me, do not plan to participate because you’ll likely write 1666 words of crap every day in order to […]

Five Things I’ve Learned About Memoir Writing

1. Your protagonist (you) should be 80-90% sympathetic with only a few flaws.

I used to think that the more flawed a character was, the more people would be able to relate to him/her. I quickly learned that too many flaws make a character unlikable. Readers don’t want to read 200-300 pages about a […]

Do Not Disturb

I’m on a private writing retreat this week—private meaning just me, my laptop, a lot of Coke Zero, and my manuscript. Oh, and Siri. I use Siri to send text messages while driving more than anything else. I rarely ask her where I can find a yoga studio or a place to eat because […]

8 Secrets to a Successful Writers’ Group

Writers’ groups, also called critique groups, can be invaluable resources for writers. They provide the structure and support of an MFA workshop without the high cost of tuition. But not all writer’s groups are equal. Get in the wrong group, and you may do more harm to your writing than good. How do you know […]