Resources for Writing the “Other”
With May being AAPI Heritage Month (and this Friday’s World Day for Cultural Diversity) it’s a good opportunity to bring up a real challenge for writers – writing the Other. “Other” can be anyone whose identity you don’t share, whether through gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, race, age, disability, etc. Writers have come under much more scrutiny these last few years in their attempts to create a diverse cast of characters in their work, and with good reason: while representation is important, equally important is accurate representation that avoids stereotypes. This is especially true for marginalized populations who historically have not only been under-represented but misrepresented in many ways.
Can You Ever Have Too Much Voice?
Last week I talked about the novel Sunshine, by Robin McKinley. I liked the story, but found the rambling, digressing, and occasionally convoluted nature of the writing distracting to the point where I occasionally skipped passages – which I almost never do. Why? Aren’t we told, over and over again, that we must have “voice” in our writing? What is “voice” anyway, and can you have too much of it?
Give It a Whirl: Writing Exercises for National Poetry Month
Last week we talked about poetry techniques for fiction or nonfiction. How about writing some actual poetry? For some prose writers, that’s a hell, no! I get it. It’s a totally different form. But you can write in any form of poetry you like! Prose poetry is a thing. So is free verse. If you want to, you can look at all kinds of forms of poetry and their rules for a special challenge.
What Fiction Writers Can Learn from Poetry
It’s National Poetry Month! I often feel like poetry is seen as “literary” and cut off from the popular imagination. Robert Pinsky’s The Favorite Poem Project and NPR’s recent invitation to submit poems via Twitter and TikTok help bring poetry back to the everyday. Fiction and nonfiction get far more attention from the media and the public, of course, and often people, even writers, fall firmly in the prose or poetry camps.
However, there is a lot prose writers can learn from poetry. Especially if you’re feeling like your writing is a little stale, you can learn to play with words again by paying attention to some of the techniques poets use.
Took a Break From Writing? Here’s How to Come Back Strong
This past weekend I went on a long-weekend trip to see family for Easter. Like many other people, I haven’t been able to see my extended family regularly for a while, so it was kind of a big deal. While there, I did lots of other things, but one thing I didn’t do was writing.
Researching Agents and Setting Up Your Querying System
Now that you have your query and your various synopses ready to go, the next step is to actually send your stuff out to a real live agent, standing by.
Actually, no, agents are not standing by just waiting for queries to drop in like manna from heaven. That is a real misconception writers have.
The Dreaded Synopsis
Writing a novel synopsis is hard, but it can help you before and after the pitching process. Here's a breakdown of how to do it right.
How to Write a Kick-Ass Query Letter
Querying a book is both a lot simpler and a lot harder than it may appear. Simple, because there are very specific things you need to include, and there is a very simple outline you can follow to make sure those elements are present. Hard, because holy cow – creating a compelling short synopsis of your book in one or two paragraphs is a major challenge!
#PitMad? No Problem! The Ultimate Guide to Creating the Perfect Pitch
Now that most agents have re-opened to queries, and #PitMad is in full swing, it’s time to talk about the right way to prepare your pitch to sell your book. In this March series, I’ll be focused on selling your novel or memoir, because selling other kinds of nonfiction requires a different process. However, in terms of selling your book, memoir works more like fiction, so we can treat them together.
To Know Your Main Character Better, Create a Vision Board
But, you might say, I’m a WRITER. I paint with words. Words are my jam. Text is my Queen. What is this vision board thing anyway, and how can it help me?
Why Should I Care? How to Build a Character Readers Root For
In my last blog post, I talked about doing writing (and other) Challenges and how they can be good for us, sparking motivation to achieve our goals. (I am, by the way, still going strong on my Challenges I described – yaay me!). In order to succeed at a daunting Challenge we have to have a powerful desire behind it. If the goal is to write for 100 days straight, or train for a marathon, there must be a why behind it. And the why has to be compelling enough for us to keep going, even when we’d rather sleep in, or binge-watch a series on Netflix.
But what about our fictional characters?
Feeling Stuck or Bored? Take On a New Challenge
It’s snowy/sleety/icy here today. I spent an hour and a half shoveling slush from my walks and driveway (bonus: I got a killer workout). The groundhog has officially declared six more weeks of winter. (I live in New England, where we realistically have more like 8-10 more weeks of winter. Not that I’m counting.) We’re in that long dreary pre-spring time where nothing much seems to be happening, which is especially true in this ongoing pandemic.
Thus, it is the perfect time to start a new Challenge.
Want to Improve Your Writing? Change Your Mindset
In the last post I talked about identity, imposter syndrome, and the importance of identifying yourself as a Writer. Today I want to talk more about mindset, and how to utilize it to achieve your creative goals.
Imposter Syndrome Is an Imposter
Are you a Writer?
What’s your immediate answer, when I ask that question? Is it a resounding “YES!”? Or a quieter, “Well, maybe… sort of…” or even “Not yet, because…”
If, like me, you’ve set your writing goals for the year, it’s important to start the year off with the right mindset, and foremost is thinking about our identities as writers.
On Planning, Scheduling, and Not Giving Up
Welcome to 2021! Has everyone set their writing goals for the year? Do you know what you want to do, your target date, and do you have a plan and a schedule to make it happen? I know, I know, it goes against all ideas of “creativity” to plan and schedule your writing. If you wanted that, you’d go work in a factory. But today I’m going to show you a very good reason to do so.
How to Set Yourself Up for Success in Meeting Your 2021 Writing Goals
As the final post of 2020, I’d like to leave you with some questions for reflection as you plan for 2021.
From last time:
How to Smash Your 2021 Writing Goals - Starting Now
To end this year, I’m going to write a couple of posts on goals for 2021. I know a lot of people, myself included, hate the dreaded “new year resolutions,” having too often experienced a few days or weeks of early optimism soon torpedoed by boredom or difficulty. This is different, I promise! Setting goals is actually a good thing to do, if you do it right.
But still, isn’t it fine to wait until January to plan for 2021?
Favorite Book Roundup, Part I
I aim to read 52 books a year. Sometimes it’s a few more, sometimes a few less. I try to read a mix of fiction and nonfiction, and different types or genres of both. For the next two weeks, I’ll be talking about my favorites from 2020.
The 12 Days of Writing Gifts
And… we leap from Thanksgiving straight into gift-giving season. I don’t know why it always takes me by surprise. And this year, when the mail is slower than usual just at the time when most of us are trying to do our shopping online, we have to think about it sooner rather than later.
A Writer’s Thanksgiving
This week will be a short post, but an important one, and relevant for the holiday (at least, here in the U.S.): gratitude. For me as a writer (and listening to many writers I know), it feels like we often focus on what we lack: motivation, time to write, a good agent (or any agent), visibility in the marketplace, stellar sales… there is always something. If anyone does mention something positive, they often do it with a ton of self-deprecation, as though it is – well, maybe not a crime, but certainly rude to call out your own good fortune in the midst of others’ misery.