I finally participated in NaNoWriMo, although technically it was NaSSWriMo, because I worked on short stories. My challenge, however, is to choose what to work on from the mound of material I've generated. So I’m asking for your help to prioritize. Just read through the brief synopses in the form at the bottom of the post, and cast your vote!
Being in the presence of a diva can be intimidating. Fortunately, the author of today's guest post, Arlene Miller, is anything but. Even as I wrote that last sentence I worried there’s something wrong with it. Will I hear from her about how it’s constructed? Is there a prohibition against ending a sentence with "but?"... Continue Reading →
I've been writing this blog for more than six years, usually once or twice a month. I haven't, to my amazement, run out of things to say. However, I think it's time to open up the forum to other voices. So today I offer the first of what I hope will be regular guest posts... Continue Reading →
"Some English that might strive thine ear to please" — John Keats, Sonnet to Spenser I recently spent a week being paid to care very much that tenses agreed and singular nouns did not precede plural verbs. That is, I was copy editing. And here I arrive at the limit of my ability to describe... Continue Reading →
Four writers sat around a table, commiserating. “I write a lot about what I’m going to write. I have pages and pages of notes.” “I have so many ideas… but I just can’t get started.” “The story I end up writing is never as good as the one I imagined.” “I get so antsy when... Continue Reading →
Pity the poor Second Person. The name alone is enough to puncture its self-esteem. Second fiddle, second best, second rate. No wonder this voice in literature gets no respect. Actually, it gets less than respect. It is reviled! “I won’t read anything written in second person.” “It’s fingernails on a blackboard to me.” “The writing... Continue Reading →
EXT. - DINER - EARLY MORNING The camera moves across a parking lot with big sky in the background and sunrise clouds, toward a diner with a plate glass window. Through the slightly misted window we see A MAN sitting alone at a table looking down into a steaming cup. A WAITRESS approaches with a... Continue Reading →
With everything going on in the world these days, I recently felt the need for some light entertainment. That's when my publisher sent me a first proof of What Remains Unsaid. After I finished jumping up and down with excitement—since this means the book will be coming in 2017—I spent the rest of a rainy... Continue Reading →
Certainly, this is more difficult than writing an essay. You will envy those youthful writers who not only did it in their twenties (or earlier) but got published—and famous. To keep from becoming too discouraged, you’ll have to look for writing icons who didn't blossom until later in life. Now that the envy is under... Continue Reading →
