No wonder so many adults long to return to university, to all those deadlines–ahhh, that structure! Scaffolding to which we may cling! Even if it is arbitrary, without it, we’re lost, wholly incapable of separating the Romantic from the Victorian in our sad, bewildering lives…  —Marisha Pessl, Special Topics in Calamity Physics   Learning to...Read More

I’m delighted to welcome Lisa Rowe to the blog. She’s a lawyer turned playwright who began crafting her first play in high school…but I’ll let her tell you that story. Read Rowe’s story, learn about the books that inspired her and then enter to win either a signed copy of the Psych script or a...Read More

Hello writers! I’m delighted to welcome K.M. Weiland to the blog today to teach us how to structure a scene quickly. On September 25, Weiland will be talking to our Write Now! Mastermind class about Scene Sequences: Building Your Book from the Ground Up. If you’re not yet a member of the group, sign up for...Read More

Over the summer, I read a blog post on Life Hacker by James Clear: You Have 25,000 Mornings as an Adult. Here’s How Not to Waste Them. As a guilt-ridden midwestern girl, I had to read it. In the article, Clear offers much of the same advice I’ve shared here in the blog: manage energy...Read More

Welcome, writers! In today’s edition of Writers Read, Patrick S. Lafferty writes about novels with strong voices. Speaking of strong voices—check out Lafferty’s novel Anno Domina. In the book, the newly elected governor of Arizona must decide whether or not to stay the execution of a heretical cult leader. His ultra-conservative constituency wants her dead but...Read More

I can’t remember how I discovered Rochelle Barlow’s blog, but when I stumbled on it—I was smitten. Not just with Rochelle’s lovely name, but with her spunky style and content. I also fell in love with how she used the Click to Tweet plugin—so I asked her to show me (and you) how. Here’s her...Read More

On Monday, as I scrambled to finish an editing project, get the kids ready for school, and put together a newsletter—I felt stressed. I wasn’t sure how I’d finish it all. And then my computer crashed. In the 48 hours between crash and rescue, I whined and worried about losing data, finishing projects, and spending...Read More

Hey writers! If you’ve followed this blog over the past few years, you know I’m passionate about fitness. I’m an avid walker, weight lifter (honest!), and wannabe runner. I also dabble in yoga. But mostly, I’m trying to move enough to fight the fat that comes with a desk job! This summer, I started following...Read More

Planning to write is not writing. Outlining, researching, talking to people about what you’re doing, none of that is writing. Writing is writing. —E.L. Doctorow When I was in college and graduate school, we all procrastinated. We put off studying and paper writing in favor of talking about esoteric subjects and making mischief. We pulled all-nighters...Read More

When we commit ourselves to writing for some part of each day we are happier, more enlightened, alive, lighthearted and generous to everyone else. Even our health improves. –Brenda Ueland In June, I took my son to a Switchfoot concert. In the middle of their show, the lead singer talked about leaving their record company,...Read More