The story behind The Moon Ran After Her This novel began with a crime. More accurately, a striation of crimes, like upended layers of sediment. The top layer was a purse snatching. Nobody knew Grandma Aghavni’s exact age, since her…
It’s time to show that rough draft who’s boss I can’t be the only writer this happens to The project you’re working on might be your first, or your forty-first novel. You may have a detailed outline, even a scene-by-scene breakdown.…
Next time, I unpack the books first We moved in twelve days ago, but today I finally feel like I live here We lived in this house in a sweet neighborhood in Southeast Boise, Idaho for six years before emptying it…
Success has a lot to do with just not quitting I found an agent with the first book I wrote Does that sound like I had instant beginner’s luck? A win, right out of the box? Lest you roll your eyes,…
When your book has to cut weight or die Writing a novel has a lot in common with gardening You prepare the soil, removing rocks and dead roots (limiting beliefs, self-defeating assumptions) and adding amendments (reading, daydreaming). You select seeds…