Fiction Tips: Sometimes you need to stop writing.
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…
Fiction Tips: The Chronology of My Madness
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…
Character Backstory: Lessons from Orange is the New Black
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…
#WeekendReading
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…
Radio & The Big Hairy Revision Monster
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…
The Sadness of the Unread Story
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.…
Why Fiction Writers Should Watch “Better Call Saul” as a Lesson in Character Development
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…
One Star, Five Stars, Rock Stars
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…
Walking Inspiration: For Me, Less is More
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…
WTF am I doing?
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…