

Surrounded by Books; Not "Decluttering" Literature
Quite often, people considering the eventuality or imminence of their deaths begin ridding themselves of possessions. They shed their...


A Writer's Secret to Success
Almost every writer starts out thinking that publishing her (his) book will define a successful career arc. Envy of published writers...


The Bad Review and What to Do
Your book or books are up online. Good for you. People are actually reading your work, and you get some lovely reviews. It is heady stuff...


Animating Your Work as You Go: Revising by Rereading and Rewriting
Want a living, breathing work of fiction? Writing is a recursive process. Two steps forward and one step back. Sometimes, it becomes one...


Your New Book is Released! Now What?
You've been waiting for this day. Anxious, excited, curious, even a little intimidated. The release of your new novel by the publisher...


Braving the Landscape
Even when snow is “falling faintly…faintly falling,” prospects for publishing literary work are appallingly dismal. How did your story...
Authors helping Authors: Recommendations of Great Reads
For this continuing series of posts, I'm recommending other works of fiction and non-fiction. I'd like to start with Ta-Nehisi Coates' We...
"She came in through the bathroom window" and the "long and winding road" throug
On the way home from teaching a prose poetry class on a Tuesday night, I happened to listen to an early version of Paul McCartney’s song...


Editing Your Manuscript for Overuse of Words, Awkward Constructions, Grammar and Mechanics
The act of creating a novel, short story, or play is always an impressive feat, sometimes an astonishing one. After the creative muse...


Avoiding Writer's Block
Although we can all name various distractions, from those that are life-altering to fairly minor ones, writers face daily hurdles in the...