Lately, I’ve been listening to a lot of podcasts while spring cleaning. I enjoy the format so much (particularly a podcast called The Heart of Organizing) that I decided to start my own podcast. It’s now live, and the first episode is How to Find a Literary Agent. In this 8-minute podcast, I talk about…Continue reading How to Find a Literary Agent
Category: Novel writing
Writers on Writing – Willa Cather on “Making It an Adventure”
In 1921, Willa Cather told an editor for the magazine Bookman that she only worked for two and a half to three hours each day. “If I made a chore of it, my enthusiasm would die,” she said. “I make it an adventure every day.” Like so many other writers, Cather preferred working in the…Continue reading Writers on Writing – Willa Cather on “Making It an Adventure”
How to Get Past Fear and Procrastination and Write Your Novel
Anyone who tells you that writing a novel is easy has probably never written one. Here are the five most common statements I hear from people who are struggling to write a novel: I don’t know where to begin. I’ve written a few chapters, but I can’t figure out where to go from here. I…Continue reading How to Get Past Fear and Procrastination and Write Your Novel
Revision: first draft vs. final draft
No one writes a perfect story, essay, or novel the first time around. That’s where revision comes in. The first draft contains everything you wanted to say. The final draft contains everything you needed to say—those things that are essential to the story. The first draft is likely to have more abstractions, while the final…Continue reading Revision: first draft vs. final draft
How To Write a Novel: 10 Steps
Do you want to write a novel? Begin with these 10 steps. The first thing you need to know about writing a novel is that there are no easy answers. The second thing you need to know is that there’s no magic formula. Every novel demands its own structure, its own pace, its own way…Continue reading How To Write a Novel: 10 Steps