The latest episode of the Writing and Publishing Podcast comes to you from curbside at my son’s school on a Friday, with one minute to go until the bell rings. Why, you ask, am I recording a podcast at my kid’s school? Because the biggest challenge for many writers I know is how to balance…Continue reading Writing tips for busy moms: how to balance writing and family
Author: Michelle Richmond
Michelle Richmond is the New York Times bestselling author of six novels and two award-winning story collections, including The Marriage Pact, Golden State, and The Year of Fog. She is the founder and publisher of Fiction Attic Press and the creator of Novel in Nine.
When Bad Plots Kill Good Novels
How to plot a novel When I wrote my first novel, I thought I knew what I was doing. I’d just returned from three months solo in China, and my experiences had been so life-changing, I felt they could form the basis of a novel. I’d also recently published my first story collection, a novel in…Continue reading When Bad Plots Kill Good Novels
Online writing class: Plotting the Novel
“A plot demands intelligence and memory also,” E.M. Forster wrote. “Memory and intelligence are closely connected, for unless we remember we cannot understand.” In this 8-week course, you’ll learn the secrets of crafting a compelling novel plot. Here are a few things we’ll cover in written and video lectures: Ditch the outline and die deep…Continue reading Online writing class: Plotting the Novel
Could Calexit really happen?
An excerpt from GOLDEN STATE, the 2014 novel that predicts California secession, or Calexit, after the election of a right-wing presidential candidate who runs on a border-wall platform. Today, the people of California are voting. At issue: our very identity, at its most fundamental level. The ballot boxes are ready, the people are poised to…Continue reading Could Calexit really happen?
Decluttering for Creatives: A Break-Up Letter to My Stuff
Decluttering can be particularly difficult for creative people, especially writers. Because we mine our own pasts for stories, we tend to hang on to mementos that feel significant. We are collectors of observations, but also of objects. We often are prisoner to the notion that the things around us will spark ideas. And while sometimes…Continue reading Decluttering for Creatives: A Break-Up Letter to My Stuff