Writers write. Right? Yes. But! The smart writers know when to shelve a work-in-progress. Case in point: I recently finished 11/22/63 by Stephen King. It’s a time travel story that centers on this question: what would happen if JFK had lived? I CRUSHED ON THIS BOOK SO HARD. Here’s the thing about King: he is […]
I’ve been bitching to my writer friends (and anyone who’ll listen) that I can’t seem to write a goddamn story without some weird time warp timeline. WHY CAN’T I WRITE FORWARD? Meaning I start at point A and move to point B and then C and then D until I get to the end. FLASHBACKS […]
I recently finished binge watching Orange is the New Black (OITNB). I definitely enjoyed this series. I wouldn’t use the word “love,” but I definitely liked it, and I’ll be watching season 4 when it comes out in June. What I DID love was the way the writers presented character backstory. Three takeaways… 1. ALL […]
I haven’t read Liane Moriarty yet. Everyone keeps telling me this is a good one. I love taking a deeper dive into my genre of psychological suspense. Some writers worry about reading novels as they’re drafting, especially if the novel is in the same genre. I used to feel this way, but less so now. […]
For #TBT, I’m digging into the radio archives. When I was a pup and still finding my voice, I worked for a Boston radio station as the producer of a morning show. This picture is from 1995-ish. I’m in the green. Next to me: morning show host Gary Dickson, the incredibly talented Moneen Daley Harte, and, […]
The unread story is not a story; it is little black marks on wood pulp. The reader, reading it, makes it live: a live thing, a story. — Ursula K. Le Guin I’ve tried explaining this before, but I wasn’t sure if I was alone in my feelings. It wasn’t until I stumbled upon this quote […]
I watched Breaking Bad for the first time last fall and wrote a detailed blog post on character motivation, or the lack thereof for Walter White, the show’s main character. You can read it here. Here’s the gist: While I enjoyed Breaking Bad overall, the lacking backstories for the show’s main characters sometimes left me questioning […]
Check out the reviews on almost any book, and you’ll quickly see a pattern emerge: all the 5-star reviews read eerily similar. Ditto for the 1-star reviews. The 5-star reviews will often have lines like “I couldn’t put it down” or “I was pleasantly surprised” or “I loved this book.” One-star reviews are famous for […]
It’s no secret that many creative types talk about walking inspiration — the magic that occurs during daily jaunts. I love going for walks (it’s my main form of exercise). For some time, I’d trek around my huge apartment complex (four loops is just shy of two miles). I’d always find interesting things on my […]
I was reviewing some notes I scribbled on various legal pads (and envelopes and receipts and business cards) for the book I just finished writing. One stream of consciousness went like this: Is this a story about depression? Does this character have a child? WTF am I doing???? Made me laugh. Writers constantly struggle between […]