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Author and Writer, Persona and Person
I've been thinking again about social media platforms for writers, remembering that woman who said you have to have 250,000 followers...
Jun 252 min read


Does it still count as writing if your word count is negative?
Chapter Two when I sat down this morning: 3,114 words. Chapter Two at the end of the day: 2,900 words And the thing is, it really was a...
May 42 min read


Writers Conference Number Umpteen and One
This one was The 2025 Boston Writing Workshop. It was billed as a “How to Get Published” writing event, with the opportunity to pitch a...
Apr 12 min read


Ninjitsu
I just got my first subscriber. Thing is, I don’t even have a newsletter yet. I guess it’s about time I pulled one together. There’s a...
Mar 141 min read


Fourteen Hundred Words of Garbage
And that’s a GOOD thing. I was feeling completely stuck for the last week. I had my outline, and I had a dozen or so scenes that knocked...
Feb 281 min read


Writing Fiction In a Time Like This
A Frenchman sheds tears of patriotic grief as flags of his country's lost regiments are exiled to Africa, 1940. ...
Feb 52 min read


Interrogating My Characters
Once month I attend a generative “Community Writing” drop in group run by the Pioneer Valley Writers Workshop . Sometimes the prompts...
Dec 7, 20244 min read


I've gone live!
Image made with Adobe Firefly (not by me, and I'm not thrilled with it, honestly). But I'm ecstatic that my first-ever sold-for-money...
Aug 23, 20241 min read


Not your typical writing process
The photo looks like a writer happily on vacation, working on his book while sitting by the lake on a breezy summer afternoon. Actually...
Aug 21, 20242 min read


Thinking Like an Engineer
I’ve always been a “pantser,” one of those authors who write by the seat of their pants. I would create characters and then sit back and...
Jul 29, 20242 min read


Rubbing Shoulders with Giants
Just two days after selling my first story, I was a “featured writer” at a public reading sponsored by the Pioneer Valley Writers...
Apr 29, 20241 min read


Score!
Checking my email last night before bed, I see: We’re excited to inform you that your flash fiction story "Invocation" has been accepted...
Apr 20, 20241 min read


My Umpteenth Writers' Conference
Umpteen, of course, is a precise number about halfway between a bunch and a bazillion. This was the Write Angles conference put on by...
Apr 15, 20242 min read


Refuse to Be Done
That’s the name of one of the many books on my shelf full of advice on how to write a novel. It could also be my personal motto. Around...
Apr 2, 20243 min read


An Unfortunate Encounter With a Table Saw
I feel kind of vulnerable sharing this, but I think it's an important cautionary tale. It’s been three weeks now, and I’m finally ready...
Mar 19, 20235 min read


Spinning Plates
There's an act you may have seen, where someone balances a lot of spinning plates on top of poles. They'll stay there as long as they're...
Nov 29, 20221 min read


Reading History With a Teaspoon
Imagine there’s an ice cream factory. A really big one. Maybe it fills an entire city block. You’re allowed to go in and sample all the...
Dec 6, 20211 min read


Going Live!
I spent weeks fussing with a green screen for my videos before realizing that my roll-top desk is prettier than the backgrounds I was...
Jul 16, 20211 min read


Coming Up For Air
My wife and I used to describe the end of August as being like “packing for a transarctic submarine voyage” because of the way the school...
Jun 14, 20211 min read


Once More Unto the Breach
Two years ago, a Writers’ Digest conference in New York City gave me a view into what the life of a professional writer’s life is like. I...
Oct 29, 20192 min read
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