Okay, so Lady Gaga is not “Lady Behave Yourself,” and maybe you’re not one of her “Little Monster” fans, but that doesn’t mean you as a writer (or anyone for that matter) can’t learn some valuable lessons from Stepani Joanne Angelina Germanotta. Here are ten for starters. Don’t stop writing, revising, and submitting your work until someone […]
Book Talk
The 3 A.M. Epiphany Writing Exercises
Uncommon Writing Exercises That Transform Your Fiction Do you need some inspiration for your fiction? If so, Brian Kiteley, director of the creative writing program at the University of Denver, has put together a great book for you called The 3 A.M. Epipany. It’s a collection of fiction writing exercises to help teach writers how […]
Messy, Slick Roads / Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone
A Writer of Fiction Tries Poetry Two questions to ponder. How often do you step out of your comfort zone, and what happens when you do? In a previous post, Growing As A Writer, I mentioned some of the things you can do to “grow as a writer” while revising your fiction for submission, such as taking […]
Manuscript Makeover
No matter how advanced you are as a writer, it never hurts to take one last look at your manuscript before sending it off to an agent or editor. And Manuscript Makeover, by Elizabeth Lyon, is just the book to help you do it. Lyon spent the last twenty years teaching writing and mentoring writers in classes, critique groups, […]
Books on Craft for the Intermediate Fiction Writer
If you’re an intermediate fiction writer and are ready to write a novel then Break Into Fiction will put you on the right path. National workshop speakers, Mary Buckham and Dianna Love, point out that there’s a logical progression of steps to take. “Although there is no formula for writing a book,” they say, “the instructions and templates […]
Books on Writing for Beginners
There are many excellent books on craft available for the struggling writer, so how does one choose? Well, word of mouth is a start. And that’s where I come in. I’ve purchased at least two hundred books on writing over the past ten years, and, although I don’t regret buying a single one (each has taught me enough to […]
