Keys to a satisfying conclusion

First off, “Rachel” you won your choice of Jill Williamson’s books, but there’s no email address for you. Can you please send me an email?We are almost done talking through the ins and outs of the first draft, and then we’ll move on to...

The first draft blues

These hit me with practically every first draft I write.Always. Always, always, always, around 50 to 75% of the way through the first draft, panic hits. I’ll suddenly remember a storyline I intended that never got put in. Or I’ll discover something...

A Writer’s Voice

A writer sent me an email asking me to talk about voice. I instantly groaned. Because I knew we should talk about it, but I also knew it was going to be an impossible thing to teach.Whenever I’ve read an interview with an agent or editor, and they’re asked...

How do you turn off the internal editor?

Happy Monday everyone!In case you weren’t aware, Blogger was having some issues last Thursday and Friday. That’s why the post sharing the winner’s from last round disappeared (which has now been corrected) and why there was no fresh post on Friday....

Making dialogue natural

First, I want to quickly draw your attention to the tab up top that says 2011 Contest Winners. Those are bios, pictures, and web site links for the wonderful writers who have placed this year in the writing prompt contests. If your name is on there and you’d...