Write Now Coach! Blog by Rochelle Melander

For today’s Wednesday Writing Prompt, I’m delighted to welcome Milwaukee-area writer Christi Craig. We met for coffee recently, and we talked about a passion of hers, flash nonfiction. She’s here to tell us more about the genre and challenge us to a flash fiction writing exercise. Ready, set, enjoy! Writing... Read More

07 May 2013

Write Now! Weekly Writing Tip

Signs You’re a Real Writer by Rochelle Melander

How do you know you’re a real writer? Some writers have real writing jobs, where they go to work and write stuff and collect paychecks. Others work the freelance route, sending off queries and hoping for the “yeses” that mean a writing gig. Book writers spend years writing and revising... Read More

03 May 2013

Writers Read

Writers Read: Books to Stimulate Your Brain by Bob Sitze

I met Bob many years ago, when I was a graduate student. Over the years he has served as my mentor, friend, project manager, fellow author, and book recommender. Then as now, he never fails to surprise me with his unending curiosity about ideas. Bob’s here today to talk about... Read More

30 Apr 2013

Write Now! Weekly Writing Tip

In Tough Times: Three Reasons to Stay Hopeful about Writing by Rochelle Melander

Listen to the mustn’ts, child. Listen to the don’ts. Listen to the shouldn’ts, the impossibles, the won’ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me… Anything can happen, child. Anything can be. —Shel Silverstein In the past few months—really, in the past year—I’ve thought about chucking the whole... Read More

24 Apr 2013

Wednesday Writing Prompt

Wednesday Writing Prompt: The Commonplace Book by Rochelle Melander

When I was in my 20s, I began keeping a commonplace book for the quotes I encountered when I read. I got the idea from Madeleine L’Engle in her book, Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art. She wrote: “(A parenthesis here about quotations and credits. I was taught... Read More

17 Apr 2013

Wednesday Writing Prompt

Wednesday Writing Prompt: Write a Weather Forecast Poem by JoAnn Early Macken

Today I’m delighted to welcome JoAnn Early Macken to the blog. She’s the amazing author of several beautiful picture books and a well-known and appreciated writing teacher. Her brand new book, Write a Poem Step by Step, offers a no-nonsense guide to writing a poem. JoAnn will be my guest speaker... Read More

16 Apr 2013

Write Now! Weekly Writing Tip

The Book Hook: What it is, why you need it, and how to create it by Rochelle Melander

Do you want to sell your book? Dumb question: who doesn’t want to sell millions of copies of their book, right? Here’s the thing: whether you want to sell your book directly to readers (self-published) or first to agents or editors (traditionally published), you must be able to articulate what... Read More