Spark Your Imagination

It's so important for writers to read as much as they can in their genre. Through reading, you begin to understand what the expectations are of the community you hope to be a part of. You begin to develop a certain language and shared knowledge with people who have immersed themselves in the genre. And when you pitch agents and editors, you are able to reference other works and explain what about your work stands out and where it follows conventions or familiar tropes.

As you comb through your manuscript, every time you think 'I'm not sure that works', you'll be tempted  to second guess yourself and think 'oh, it's fine'. Think again. It's not fine. Fix it - or lose it.

What the average reader doesn't understand is the sweat, blood, and tears that go into writing novels.

[For aspiring writers,] I'd pass  along what I learned from Harry Crews, who was my creative writing teacher at the University of Florida. He said if you want to be a writer, you have to write every day, even if it's only for 15 minutes. It was the '15 minutes' that hit home. You have to keep the story fresh in your mind; you can't let it slip away.

Prompt Tuesdaay

Figure out what you have to say. It's the one and only thing you have to offer.

Let your voice shine  through in the query.

...I am not telling you to stop pantsing your way through a manuscript. I am telling you that at some point you have to face structure because if you don't, you're going to end up with a novel that doesn't sell, except by accident.

Unlike moviemaking, dancing, classical music, painting - anything at all - writing requires a minimum of equipment yet allows for a maximum of expression of passion and creativity.

With fiction, I get to make everything up. You can certainly make mistakes, but in fiction, you're dealing with truths. In nonfiction, you're dealing with The Truth. And truth matters, especially in this day and age.

Prompt Tuesday

A Lot of what this business is about is faith and confidence. It's just that simple.