Category: Novels

Cardinal Sins of Character Development

Nothing makes me stop reading a novel faster than a poorly realized protagonist. Why? Because that character is the guide to a new world, and if he lacks credibility the whole story does too. Below, I have listed some examples…

Stories in the Attic

For those of you who read my October 10, 2013 entry (“Purposeful Hoarding”), you will know of my penchant for hanging onto things (not so much balls of string as the archives of my life.) Somewhere in a box (probably…

jamie lee curtis screams

Revision Scream Queen

Every now and then, I reach out to writing friends and classmates I haven’t talked to in a while. Part of the reason is to ensure they’re not dead on the toilet*. None of them are dead, they’re just busy…

Voice Lessons for Writers

My daughter first sang in public when she was three years old. I can still see her in a dark-flowered dress, fearlessly belting out “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” in a husky voice that someone once referred to as a whiskey…

Fear and Friendly Fire

(This post originally appeared on Grub Street Daily). Many of us have a number one cultural issue that causes sleep deprivation, countless battles with friends and family or even, in my case, compels you to take on the daunting task…

How to Bake a Novel

Like most of my novel-writing friends, when I let my mind drift to lottery winning fantasies, they have very little to do with buying a Bentley and have everything to do with time. Time to write. Time to research. Time…