How to Respond to Rejections & Negative Feedback

Rejection is painful, and nasty rejection letters and negative feedback can cause writers to rethink their goals. Don’t let the negative bring you down.

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Just a word—or a thousand—for writers faced with discouragement from any source. You can defeat the giants arrayed against you.

Continue reading Dealing with Discouragement »

Writer’s block is real and it can keep you from finishing your manuscripts. Consider strategies and options to overcome writer’s block.

Continue reading Writer’s Block—Real or Imaginary? »

Writers have personal strengths and weaknesses. What one writer nails every time, another might struggle with again and again. A reminder to assess your skills and improve those that weaken your writing.

Continue reading Assess Your Writing Skills—Turn Weaknesses to Strengths »

The creation of a movie requires many specialists. So does the writing of a novel. The novelist, however, plays the part of all the specialists. He alone is responsible for putting his story together the way a movie’s production team does.

Continue reading Novelist as Director…And as So Much More »

Rules are important in writing—of course they are—because they help the writer convey meaning and emotion and story in the best possible manner for his readers. Yet, adherence to the rules at the wrong time can create soulless fiction. A reminder to create with abandon.

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Want to know if your reason for writing a novel is valid? It is. Whatever gets you to start and then complete your story is a legitimate reason to write.

Continue reading Why Write a Novel—Your Reason is the Right One »

Sometimes it’s not about the rules. It’s about the act of writing. Just do it.

Continue reading Let it Flow »

NaNoWriMo, the National Novel Writing Month, happens every November. Join hundreds of others in writing a novel—50,000 words—in a month.

Continue reading NaNoWriMo 2010 Has Begun »

A novel isn’t finished after the first draft. Writers have much work ahead of them—some of the most tedious work—even after they’ve written “The End.”

Continue reading Why Writing “The End” Doesn’t Mean You’ve Finished »