One Dog at a Time
I got my first dog, Zoe, in 2012 at a time when I was trying to finish a draft of my novel in order to apply to the Incubator program. Zoe was a good dog and a very easy puppy….
Category: The Writing Life
Thank You, Junior High
All my favorite books come from a “deep place of junior high trauma.”* From Harriet the Spy to The Outsiders, right on up through Rick Moody’s Purple America and Strout’s Olive Kitteridge. Picture Olive at eleven. She has huge feet….
Red Rover, Red Rover, Send My Next Novel Right Over!
My current novel revision ends in July. Full stop. Do not pass the revision mark again until the good lady (or lord, should it come to that) says so. Am I pleased? I am pleased! I know that revision doesn’t…
Useful Metaphors
‘Kill your darlings,’ the writing teacher’s commandment for which this site is named, is a most useful and robust metaphor. It doesn’t just tell writers to mistrust themselves when they become especially enamored of a bit of their writing, but…
Adventures in Titling: Part One
When I tell people that coming up with a title for my book rates just above a drilling session at the dentist they look at me like I’m crazy. “Really?” they say. “The title?” I hear what they’re thinking. Creating…
CAMBRIDGE’S BEST COFFEE CLUSTER – CENTRAL SQUARE
The latest installment of Metro Boston’s Best Coffee Clusters is back with a spotlight on Central Square, Cambridge. But first, if you have no idea what a coffee cluster is, you can find out why every writer needs one here…