Book Coaching & Editing Services for Writers of Fiction & Creative Nonfiction
I thought I’d close out National Poetry Month with some thoughts for those of us who are not poets. I want to tell you why I think poetry should be a part of any writer’s life and how it can improve your prose writing. Thinking of your writing in terms of poetry can help establish … Read More
You get a podcast, and you get a podcast, and you get a podcast! Are you an emerging writer just learning your craft? A writer ready to query agents with your completed novel? A voracious reader who loves a deep craft dive into books? A screenwriter? A would-be full-time novelist who’s currently doing whatever it … Read More
Photograph of Melissa Febos by Beowulf Sheehan I am beginning the new year by writing about the best craft book I read in 2022 because I want us—me and you too, dear reader—to carry this book with us not only into 2023, but into the rest of our lives. Body Work: The Radical Power of … Read More
Some friends of mine over at Kelp Journal got together and wrote Published: A Craft Guide, a series of essays by current and former Kelp Journal editors on crafting fiction submissions that stand out. Edited by Kelp Journal managing editor A.E. Santana, Published offers essays on topics including structure, point of view, dialogue, characters, suspense, voice, genre, and living with … Read More
I haven’t been to Monterey for more than three years now, but I’m dreaming of it lately, and I hope to get back to visit soon. Monterey is the place in the world that feels most like home to me. It’s the place where I feel most like myself and where I feel most inspired … Read More
After an early draft of my first novel was gently ripped to shreds by my MFA advisor (and rightly so), I took the advice I’d been given to heart and rewrote my book into something I’m proud of. I will be forever grateful to my thesis advisor, Tod Goldberg, who gave it to me straight … Read More
I’ve been reading about writing, editing, and creativity lately, and a theme that keeps popping up is the amount of time and hard work it takes to acquire natural born writing talent. We’ve all read stories of “overnight success”–talented actors, writers, musicians, who seemingly burst onto the scene out of nowhere. What we don’t hear … Read More
Last week, I discussed character descriptions that are almost entirely physical–they are focused on the character’s appearance. While they are good descriptions, they can be a missed opportunity. I’m a big fan of using character descriptions strategically, not only to describe the way a character looks, but to give us some insight into the character. … Read More
I recently binged all the Twilight movies–I’d never watched them before, but I was intrigued/tricked into watching them by my friend Ashley Corinne–she recently wrote a Twilight re-read series for GXRL magazine. Ashley compared her experience reading the books now, as an adult, to reading them then, as a teenager. It felt like a crash I … Read More
In my teens, I thought writing was agony. I read The Bell Jar and emptied my broken heart into reams of bad, hand-scrawled poetry about the boys who didn’t love me back. In my twenties, I thought writing was detached, hard-rock glamour. It meant jeans and a band T-shirt, dark shades to block out my … Read More