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...
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Aug 212 min
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...
Jul 292 min
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...
Apr 291 min
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 201 min
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 152 min
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 23 min
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...
Mar 19, 20235 min
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...
Nov 29, 20221 min
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...
Dec 6, 20211 min
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...
Jul 16, 20211 min
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...
Jun 14, 20211 min
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...
Oct 29, 20192 min
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...
Nov 6, 20173 min
Gold Stars
This past summer, at my very first writers conference, I had an agent ask me, “If this is your first conference, how did you learn to...
Oct 29, 20172 min
Teacher and Writer
Two months have passed since I got back from the Writer’s Digest Conference in New York, and I feel like I’ve been swimming underwater...
Aug 23, 20172 min
The Hook, the Book, and the Cook...
One of the agents who spoke at the Writers Digest conference last weekend described the ideal query letter as having “the hook, the book,...
Aug 22, 20172 min
Just back from my first writers’ conference
It was wonderful…and exhausting. Here are a few highlights from my journal: Thursday– I’m completely alone tonight. Exploring the...
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