In a previous article, I discussed the benefits of Fast Writing (both what it is and why it’s awesome sauce!) Now, I’d like to share the “how” behind this technique…
Category Archives: WriteLife
The Art of Writing FAST
The idea of writing FAST excites me. When I was younger, finishing books quickly was something I’d always wanted to do, but I believed there was some code I needed to crack before I could achieve results. I’m here to tell you that’s not true. There’s no code, no secret, no one-size-fits-all formula. Nope. And you get all the details here, in my new mini-series, for free.
This article was originally published in the Killer Nashville Magazine’s May 2024 issue.
Thomas Dabney Mabry, Jr Creative Writing Award Winner!!
I ranked #1 in the inaugural Thomas Dabney Mabry, Jr Creative Writing Award for an excerpt from my unpublished novel “Overshadow.” It was an incredible honor to receive this award at the 19th Clarksville Writers Conference.
Rejecto-Acceptometer
(Approx 4 minute read) Who else nerds out as bad as I do with querying? I developed a system using Excel to track agents I’ve queried and their responses over the past year to see my progress (by the way, getting rejections is progress and before you argue your point about how that cannot possiblyContinueContinue reading “Rejecto-Acceptometer”
Pages, Players, and Perspectives
When you set out to write a book (or short story), do you try to imagine the audience? If writing is simply a creative outlet for you and you don’t have plans for publishing, then this post may not be for you. But if you do have dreams of seeing your name in print (beContinueContinue reading “Pages, Players, and Perspectives”
Find Your Community
We don’t exist in a bubble. And no matter how introverted you are, if you have the dream of “someday” getting published, you need people. Good people. Positive-feedback givers, real-life story swappers, and, most important, cheerleaders. I’ll be the first to say it’s really hard to find these groups, but not impossible. I wrote anContinueContinue reading “Find Your Community”
The Writing Craft (a curated list for those who never stop learning)
One thing I love more than writing is studying the craft. Since I was a teen, I remember scouring the English Language/Writing section of Borders. (Gosh, do you remember Borders? I loved that bookstore). I spent so much of my babysitting cash on craft books (and CDs, this was after all, the pre-streaming Amazon musicContinueContinue reading “The Writing Craft (a curated list for those who never stop learning)”
Troubleshooting Your Novel: A Craft Book Review
Photo by Polina Zimmerman on Pexels.com The Writer’s Digest Book “Troubleshooting Your Novel” by Steven James provides lists upon lists of questions to ask when revising your book. I love lists. I’m a list person all the way. Groceries, To-Do’s, How-To’s, and of course, both the outlining and editing process have their respective checklists. I’dContinueContinue reading “Troubleshooting Your Novel: A Craft Book Review”
The NEVER and ALWAYS Advice…
Ultimatums. They come in handy sometimes. Necessary in some cases.
But in the case of writing? Not really.
Passive voice isn’t the evil you were taught to avoid!
For those who suffered at the hands of passive voice critics, read on for a breath of fresh air… THANK YOU, Tobias Buckell, for giving the infamous “to be” variations a little breather. This short post is a quick review of an article I recently read in the July/August 2022 Writer’s Digest magazine, titled “TheContinueContinue reading “Passive voice isn’t the evil you were taught to avoid!”