There are no shortage of inspiring quotes and lists of advice from great writers. The internet is full of them. Go ahead. Google “writing advice.” See? There’s no end to it. But the two best pieces of writing advice I’ve ever had came from unexpected places: an agent who is not longer an agent and a writer whose name I can’t remember. So here it is, the writing advice that has…
A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to hear Jodi Picoult read from her latest novel LEAVING TIME, and to meet her for the briefest of moments while she signed my book. She was funny, and gracious, and quite down to earth despite her 23 books – the last 8 of which have made it on the NYT bestsellers list. And while I loved learning about the book,…
In no particular order: 1. Write every day. (Not every day is a writing day. Some days are recharge and reflect days. Others are step-away-from-the-ms-before-you-revise days. Others are go live your life days.) 2. Butt in chair. (Or couch. Or bed. Or blanket on the grass on a breezy spring day.) 3. Write what you know. (I wrote Chasing the Sun because there was so much I didn’t know about my own…
On this Veteran’s Day, let us say thank you to all the service men and women who have served our country and continue to do so. Their families, too—your sacrifices humble us. In honor of the holiday, let’s learn a few things from veterans who’ve gone ahead of us in publishing. Sure, that’s not quite as heroic, but we appreciate veteran authors, too. I asked five published writer friends to teach…
It’s funny how things work. Just as my writing career took off in a major way (as in, assignments were coming in almost daily, and I was taking on some exciting stuff with a book on the back burner), I got pregnant with my first child. I remember wondering how I’d juggle new motherhood with writing–especially since I wanted to be a hands-on mom and not send the kiddo to…
