Artists: Be Here Now…or face this Duchman’s wrath

November 12, 2013.Reading time 2 minutes.

Apparently I have the attention span of a month-old shih tzu. Despite making a pledge to be more present, I only managed to reign my mind in to the moment for all of about 37 seconds over the course of two weeks. Pathetic, I know. And yet despite its brevity, I did manage to get […]

Goodsreads poll on how not get dumped

July 21, 2013.Reading time 1 minute.

Sometimes all my sentences sound stunted. Other times I wonder what is wrong with me that I can’t spell ‘unfortuentley’ right for once? Then I become Totally Convinced that my main character is as fake and unbelievable as Apple Pie Extra. Then I cry. Thankfully none of that apparently matters—at least 46.4% of the time. […]

Debbie Millman on writing sucess and why I don’t need a bigger home

June 22, 2013.Reading time 1 minute.

The last time I completed a manuscript I was filled with excitement and anticipation. This time, it was more like WIDE EYED FEAR. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that the last few projects have fallen flat on their 12 point font faces, that after over a year of work I am […]

When a story fizzles:advice from YA author Shannon Hale

April 21, 2013.Reading time 1 minute.

Like the forever sagging waist band on my stretch jeans, something about my latest manuscript is not working. Despite a few strong elements, it just doesn’t seem to crackle, pop, or even fizz, and I wasn’t sure why till I read this quote from Shannon Hale about the importance of telling a story that doesn’t come […]

Take a trip because Stephen King say’s so

April 14, 2013.Reading time 1 minute.

If it was up to me, I would probably spend every minute I am not sleeping or drinking coffee so I don’t have to sleep, or going to Starbucks to get said coffee, or peeing in the bathroom because coffee always has that effect on me, writing. Naturally, it took me a very, […]

Something I learned about writing today: what makes a killer page one

March 14, 2013.Reading time 2 minutes.

The first page is the most valuable property in a book. If a reader doesn’t feel compelled to get beyond those first few paragraph than the rest might as well be pi numerals. I have been told this many times by editors, and yet one of the biggest pieces of feedback I got about a recent manuscript was that […]

Something I learned about writing today: It takes a village

February 12, 2013.Reading time 1 minute.

I don’t know if anyone else besides the author and the people listed within them ever actually reads them, but I have soft spot for Acknowledgments pages. They are like a little peak behind the scenes, a tiny glimpse into how the book in my hand was created. And sometimes a much needed lull at […]