More Magazine features an essay by Kathryn Stockett, author of the wildly successful novel The Help, now a wildly successful film. It’s an old story, but worth repeating: novelist gets a zillion rejections, or 60, to be more precise, before finally landing an agent, a publisher, and a long-running spot at the top of...
In July’s obit section, WORD magazine remembers John Carter, songwriter, producer, and A&R man extraordinaire, who “was instrumental in the careers of and a passionate supporter of Bob Seger, The Motels, Sammy Hagar, Melissa Etheridge, Tori Amos, David and David, and … Tina Turner.” WORD quotes an interview for industry website Taxi, in...
I began writing the stories that would appear in my first book, a story collection entitled The Girl in the Fall-Away Dress, one winter while living alone in a shabby duplex with no heat in a dodgy part of Knoxville, Tennessee. During the day I went to my job as a copywriter at an...
A few days ago, a reader named Christine emailed me the following question: Do you think a person can begin being a writer at age 60? You’re so young and have such a solid educational background in literature. I know I want to write, and have a folder of snippets, unrelated, but think I’m...
Here are three fiction writing prompts to help you get your story started. Write about your most memorable experience with fear. Begin with an actual event, but allow the story to take on its own “truth” as you write, veering away from the facts of the actual event. Write about something that took place...
When you find yourself struggling with writer’s block, try one of these writing prompts. The writing prompts on this list are intentionally broad. The goal is to jump-start your writing engine so that you can begin writing your book or story. Remember to favor the concrete over the abstract, and to let your mind...
Some years ago, when I was teaching creative writing at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, the poet Virgil Suarez did a Q&A session with our students. One good point he made concerned writer’s block. I’m paraphrasing, but this is basically what he said: There’s no such thing as writer’s block. Just write through...
Scrivener A decade-long PC user, I bought a Macbook for the express purpose of writing my next novel on Scrivener. I’m glad I did. I do a lot of research for my novels, and I love having my research documents conveniently filed alongside my writing. I also like the wayScrivener adapts to the way I write...
Whether you’ve written a memoir for friends and family, or you’re hoping to market your thriller to the masses, or you want to turn your professional expertise into a how-to manual, ebooks are a wonderful way to get your story out of your desk drawer and into the world. Of course, ebooks aren’t for...
If your skill set runs to the literary side of things, you may find the process of creating an ebook cover to be something of a challenge. I know I did. There are a number of companies offering ebook cover creation for a fee. However, if you want to save money and if you’re...