At the beginning of this year I started up on a new revision of a book I’d been working on for two years. And for two years I’d been swimming inside the world of the story, intimate with its characters,…
By Guest Contributor Virginia Pye We all know writers with unpublished manuscripts hidden in desk drawers. Successful authors often admit to a half dozen failed, boxed-away books. Emily Dickinson bundled her poems with string and placed them under her bed….
“I just want to understand what the character is feeling.” If you’re playing writing workshop bingo, this statement should be the center square, guaranteed to come up in every class when discussing a work’s emotional apex. Sometimes off-base, yes, but…
I recently returned from my annual writing retreat with my fabulous writing group, the Salt + Radish Writers. We go every year and spend four days in a rambling, old Maine house on the beach. We have a schedule, stick…
Years ago I’d had my first novel published and was feeling pretty darn good. I’d been invited to the Midwest Literary Festival in the capacity of Author with a capital “A.” I was on panels, dispensing wisdom and truths of…
The slogans zing at writers everywhere we go, from tree-dangling kittens on social media to well-meaning cocktail party guests. Keep the Faith. Never Give Up. Butt in Chair. And we spoon feed it to ourselves as well, suckling at the…