Steinbeck vs. Hemingway on Writing

Steinbeck: Hemingway: Perhaps this is nothing but the pantster vs. (sort of) plotter approach, but I think it goes deeper than that. What do...

Oh, you grammar Nazis, you...

I'm one. I admit it. I'm even proud of it. (Yeah, I taught English for ten years.) I  hate  it when people misuse punctuation. Missp...

Magical Realism Meets Disenchanted Science

I'm excited. My writer friend Edith Parzefall just released her second novel, Crumple Zone , a story of psychological suspense pub...

Pixar's 22 Rules of Storytelling

Found this via Janet Reid 's blog this morning--thank you, Janet! Pixar storyboard artist Emma Coates shares tweets on storyteller wisdo...

50 Best Literary Insults (Thank you, ShortList)

You have favorite lines from Shakespeare, don't you? Roald Dahl, Margaret Atwood, James Joyce? Lines so poignant, so rife with truth tha...

My Next Big Thing

I was invited to participate in the NEXT BIG THING blog hop by the awesome Vanessa Wu of Intense Sensations  (read her awesome Big Thing pos...

Writing Myths--Debunked?

If you missed this on Poets & Writers , read it. Seriously.

Where Do Ideas Come From?

With NaNo prep running rampant everywhere, the forums teeming with excellent plots and characters so alive you hear their pulse, isn't ...

To Close Banned Books Week

In case you missed this on Flavorwire: Famous Authors' Funniest Responses To Their Books Being Banned . My favorites? No, no--don't ...

Janet Fitch's 10 Rules of Writing

If you missed this list, check it out here . The LA Times reprinted Janet's rules last month. These are worth printing out and keeping n...

Plotters, Pantsters, And Self-Pubbing Success

Mona, the  Montana Scribbler , had  Rasana Atreya  (author of  A Thousand Lies )  guest-posting  on her blog today. If you're ever consi...

Becky Levine on Critiques & Time

If you're a writer and you missed Becky Levine's post on giving critiques time-- how  could you miss it? Even Nathan Bransford pick...

On selecting your editor

A while back, I posted something on editors, about how important it is for us writers to get  one. The truly wondrous EJ Wesley asked a ke...

Why an Editor?

You a writer? You need  an editor. Oh, you're going it alone, you say? Because that's what the indie and self-pub revolution is all ...

Bill Weldy and the Journey to Publication

For readers not yet in the know, Bill's first book, OUTLAWS , was published yesterday, May 18th. Congratulations, Bill! His journey to p...

Indie vs. Traditional Publishing Bullies & Anne R. Allen

Anne R. Allen has a MAGNIFICENT post up on her blog: Indie or Traditional Publishing? Don't Take Sides: Take Your Time . It is a MUST re...

A to Z: Zeitgeist

The spirit of the times.  Genius seculi .  What defines a nation, a community, an era . Zeitgeist  is important to writers. It doesn't j...

A to Z: Skin--Thick or Thin?

You a writer? How many times have you heard, "grow a thicker skin"? Lots, huh? Me too. Have you succeeded? Does criticism or--gasp...