Welcome to My Blog/Newsletter
Why subscribe?
To read about another writer’s journey through writing, revising, querying, and learning
To see photos of my dogs 😉
To read about specific craft issues from the point of view of a book coach/experienced writer who wants to help other writers improve their craft
My Misbeliefs About Novel Writing
On my own, I couldn’t figure out how fiction was made, though I thought I should be able to. Why? Because I had the persistent misbelief that “good” writers work alone.
Are We Being too Hard on Ourselves?
We hold ourselves to unnecessarily high standards. We don’t cut ourselves slack when something happens—like experiencing illness or an injury or a time crunch from other responsibilities.
Q&A with Sally J Pla, Part 2: How to Weave in Secondary Characters Strategically
In Part 1 of the Q&A with Sally Pla, author of the MG novel, Stanley Will Probably Be Fine, we talked about her story’s origins and how she developed her comics trivia quest. In Part 2, we talk about how she strategically weaves in her secondary characters to make her story structure so satisfying.
Q&A with Sally J Pla, Part 1: Where Ideas Come From
After analyzing the characters and how they show up in the plot and subplots in Sally J Pla’s MG novel, Stanley Will Probably Be Fine, I had more questions. So I reached out to Sally and she generously agreed to a short interview. This Q&A is an edited version of our conversation.
Quick Look at the Strong Structure of a Contemporary MG Novel
The contemporary middle grade novel Stanley Will Probably Be Fine by Sally J. Pla is fun for readers who’ve ever had friend problems, who enjoy comics, or who like treasure hunts. For writers, it offers a different kind of treasure—a wonderful example of tightly woven characters, plots, and subplots.
How I Found My Agent
I love reading people’s stories about how they finally found a literary agent. I especially love it when the writer’s search was long and difficult. If a writer queried a dozen agents and then two weeks later—BAM—found themself with multiple offers, well, good for them.
That was definitely not my experience.
The Benefits of Tracking What I Read, Part 2
If you’re keeping a list of books you’ve read, how is it useful to your writing? I’ve discovered a few ways it’s useful for me.
The Benefits of Tracking What I Read, Part 1
Do you keep track of what you read? If so, how? A spreadsheet? A plain old Word or Google doc?
And if you do track what you read, why?
Two Great Middle Grade Novels About Storytelling
Recently I happened to read two MG novels that use oral storytelling as an important theme and plot device.
Make It a Habit: How to develop a writing routine one tiny step at a time
I decided that my new habit is to move straight into fiction writing immediately after completing my morning page. My daily, baby-step fiction goal is either 250 words of new draft material or 30 minutes of brainstorming, planning, or revising.