HOW SHOULD YOUR CHARACTERS BE HURT? Recently I caught the season finale to a show that finds needy families and then rebuilds or replaces their homes. In this case, the father in the family se...
As a novelist, if you’re successful enough, you’ll someday discover that you’re not just a lady who types manuscripts in a coffeeshop or a loner who composes novels in his underwear in his ...
I’ve been watching other writers now for nearly fifty years, thanks in part to a neighbor I had as a kid. I was born and raised in Oregon, and in the late 60s, the Hippie Generation was on the ...
One day twenty years ago I was working on a novel when my wife came in shouting, “The house is on fire!” Now, I had a rule: when I’m writing on my novel, I’m not to be disturbed except in...
One of the most frequent questions you’ll get as a writer is, “How long does it take to write a novel?” There are several perfectly valid answers, and some that are utter bull-puckey. 1: ...
First, I wanted to have a little shout-out. I was on Facebook on Saturday for a few minutes and noticed that some of my past students had made some major accomplishments: Martin Shoemaker’s har...
When you release a new book, it shouldn’t just be another book–#32 in your pantheon—it should be an “Event!” It should be something that readers anticipate and look forward to and eve...
A lot of people have a hard time imagining themselves as full-time writers—and that is often the only thing that holds them back. You might be a lawyer, a dentist, a coal minter, or a waitres...
Very often a new writer will say, “I have ten ideas for novels. Which one should I write?” I’ve been fortunate enough to guess the right answer to that question a number of times. For exa...
What’s “good” writing? Is it writing that wins awards? Is it writing that makes you a lot of money? Is it writing that simply makes people care about one another, teaching them empathy, or ...
As writers, we’re faced with lots of different types of stresses. It’s not always just searching for the right word in a description or trying to meet a story deadline. While working on nov...
I hate to say this, but even before you begin writing your first book, maybe you should be thinking about career management. As you begin your writing career, one of the very first questions yo...
Often I will hear a young author talk about character arcs and realize that they have a misconception: just because a character changes, that doesn’t mean she has a character arc. For example...
Awhile back, a writer was critiquing another author’s novel and said a little snootily, “This strikes me as a lot of wish-fulfillment.” She was right, but the impetus for nearly all ficti...
What’s “good” writing? Is it writing that wins awards? Is it writing that makes you a lot of money? Is it writing that simply makes people care about one another, teaching them empathy, or ...
A few days ago, I was thinking about the endings to stories and what they made me feel. In particular, I was wondering, “What makes a story stick with me? What makes it feel like a classic?” ...
You ever feel like time’s slipping through your fingers like sand? That’s me right now. Because guess what? There are just 5 spots left for Lifetime Access to Apex Writers. Five. Th...
I hope you’re sitting down for this because I’ve got some news that’s hotter than a July barbecue. Those Lifetime Access passes to Apex Writers I told you about? WE’RE DOWN TO OUR...
A FEW WORDS ON CAREER MANAGEMENT I hate to say this, but even before you begin writing your first book, maybe you should be thinking about career management. As you begin your writing career, ...
You know, it’s one of those moments when you’re hit with something so sideways, it leaves you dizzy for days. That’s me right now, trying to steady myself after some hacker thought they...