Much has been made of the importance of getting to know your characters, with suggested tools such as questionnaires (what three things would your character bring to a deserted island?), histories (and then in kindergarten, she. . .), profiles (his … Continue reading →
Newsflash! I’ve changed to a new web host! This one offers more flexibility and better support for WordPress, so much more of my website works now. For example, my contact page now works, as does the comment system, and more. … Continue reading →
Much has been said in writing circles about the internal editor, that little voice inside you that critiques every word you write, often while you are writing. Working with the internal editor is a process that every writer must understand … Continue reading →
“What is your book about?” I hear that question and the first thing I think is, “about seventy thousand words.” That isn’t what the asker wants to know, of course. The asker wants tell a whole seventy-thousand-word story in fifteen … Continue reading →
When I first considered going for an MFA, I faced this question: should I bother? My assumption was that I should, but in my online research I kept finding echoes of that question, often expressed by people who had completed … Continue reading →
This morning I sent off several pieces to magazines: two short stories and three or four poems. I have an essay I need to send out as well, and that will probably find the door sometime this evening. This was … Continue reading →
I’m in the middle of a deep revision of my thesis novel right now. I’m going scene by scene through the whole manuscript, checking voice, point of view, metaphor choices, et cetera. I’m also allowing myself room to add detail … Continue reading →
News Flash: The Prose-Poem Project has accepted my piece, “Trouble Sleeping the Night Before a Big Test.” We now return you to your regularly scheduled post. *** I’m back from residency, and when I’ve had a chance to catch up … Continue reading →
News Flash: My prose poem “Phillips Head” has been accepted by “Third Wednesday”. Now back to our regularly scheduled post. —– In three days I begin my fourth residency at Whidbey. Technically I might qualify as an old hand at … Continue reading →
At the August 2010 NILA residency, Mary Guterson spoke about her own path to professional novel-writing, and about her process as an author. I have a vivid image from her talk of her in a motel room (not like that!) … Continue reading →