It’s launched! Dear Editor, my new fiction writing advice column. Come send me your worries, your heartaches, your concerns (about your fiction, I mean). I will do my best to smooth your way. And in celebration, I’m going to spend this week posting posts here about numbers. As in: 3… Read more“Giving advice & using (lots of) numbers”
Month: April 2010
Philosophizing—drawing a line between good & bad
I believe that writers who have the sparkle suspect, but never know for certain, that they have it. In fact they’re more likely to have doubts about their work, for the simple reason that they experience glimpses of a perfection that no human pen can ever achieve. —Jane Steen This… Read more“Philosophizing—drawing a line between good & bad”
Giving advice
So the first advice I’m going to give you all is PAY ATTENTION to WHAT YOU WRITE. Because I did not, and therefore I promised to start this Advice Column—which I intend to run five days a week—on a Saturday. Way to go, me. This means you’re going to get… Read more“Giving advice”
Channelin’
Somebody please tell me this doesn’t mean what I think it means: Ursula James’s THE SOURCE, part fable, part spell-book, an inspirational work that contains prophecies of relationships, love, forgiveness, and healing from Mother Shipton, a 16th century Yorkshire prophetess and healer, as channeled by the author. . . sold… Read more“Channelin’”
Philosophizing—defining writing as good
The pen may be mightier than the sword, but is it mightier than apathy? —Kathryn Estrada You guys. You’re like balm to the editorial soul. So let’s take this one step further. If good writing is writing that will last, what specifically does that mean? We know from our discussion… Read more“Philosophizing—defining writing as good”
Philosophizing—Noticing when writing’s bad
When every author is a marketer, only marketers will be authors. —me Here’s my question for you all to start you off philosophizing this week while I’m in San Jose: if no one notices bad writing is bad, is it still bad? One of the things that’s been bugging me… Read more“Philosophizing—Noticing when writing’s bad”
Starting an advice column for fiction writers
If you haven’t seen it yet, please feel free to visit: An Advice Column for Fiction Writers Yes, I’m going to start an advice column for you. It will be similar to the old Future Topics feature I used to have on this blog, except I won’t be able to… Read more“Starting an advice column for fiction writers”
Selling rights in a cloud
Have you guys been following what’s going on with the London Book Fair? A volcano that erupted in Iceland has whited-out British airspace, making it almost impossible for folks to get to the Book Fair from elsewhere in the world. Not only that. But it’s also making it impossible for… Read more“Selling rights in a cloud”
Analyzing the PW best sellers list
Publishers Weekly (PW) has released its list of 2009 best sellers compiled from information submitted to them by publishers. It would behoove you to check it out. In particular, take a good, hard look at the author names in the top thirty hardback fiction sellers: Dan Brown. John Grisham. Kathryn… Read more“Analyzing the PW best sellers list”
Riding the purple sage
My grandfather was a West Texas cowboy. When he was ten years old in 1902, he rode his pony alongside his parents’ wagon for three weeks from Abilene to Fort Davis. He’d made the trip once before, as a tiny child, when his mother traveled to Fort Davis to return… Read more“Riding the purple sage”