Out on the Writer’s Digest Web site, Bonnie Trenga has posted an article on grammar that boils down the writing of a good sentence to four commandments. She starts with shall nots and shalls. 1. You shall not write passively. 2. You shall not overuse weak verbs like “to be” and “to have.” 3. You […]
Theme is among the most mysterious and powerful elements of storytelling. In the classic pyramid of writing crafts from the Iowa Writer's Workshop, theme stands at the pinnacle. Theme is represented by symbols in that pyramid, the icons such as candles in a story about being lost. Even though it's at the top of that […]
A fledgling memoir writer asked me about the prospects for transforming his work into a book. Within a couple of messages on LinkedIn, he squelched his own efforts. His book idea, about a single year of biking 5,207 miles, seemed too dim to work on. "I just doubt many would read it, even if published […]
More than 300 writers huddled at classic 8-person rounder tables at the start of the 2017 Agents & Editors Conference hosted by the Writers' League of Texas. The sellout meeting was two afternoons and two mornings of hopeful pitches, two receptions where agents listened for new book concepts, amid hearty hugs and even a squelch […]
We lie about our writing. Most of us do, with the best intentions, to make up the stories about how much we're working on our books. It becomes a story that a writer tells when they say “I'm working on my novel.” If you're working on a book, and writing too little, it's time to […]
Malcolm Gladwell writes in What the Dog Saw, "Good writing does not succeed or fail on the strength of its ability to persuade. It succeeds or fails on its ability to engage you, to think, to give you a glimpse into someone else's head." This is true whether you write non-fiction, novels, or the blend […]
As it turns out, the money is not just in selling your ebooks on Amazon and Kobo. It's getting your popular books' sub-rights sold—by an open-minded agent. Laurie McLean answered a Q&A for the Writers' League of Texas and noted that self-published titles are part of her client list. Authors publish their own novels (McLean […]
Which senses make the most sense to use in your writing? Learn about the payoff for choosing smell, touch, and taste in your writing, and how to use the senses to write better.
Voice is an important part of growing as a writer, because it's a gateway to writing more effortlessly. Creating anything will always require effort. But struggling in a first draft can be a sign of over-thinking your writing. Ron Shelton, the screenwriter of Bull Durham and White Men Can't Jump, says he's got a sign […]