I am currently writing a New Adult novel (spoiler alert: it is coming out this fall), and I was totally stuck. I had no idea how to solve the problem of my protagonist not having enough agency.Then I headed into my "Harry Potter" room (it has a little cubby that looks like the room that Harry…
Yesterday I was reading the delightful From Twinkle, with Love, and a terrible thought hit me: What if Ms. Menon never wrote this book? The thought broke my heart. This book was giving me so much joy. I was learning about new female filmmakers and laughing along with Twinkle's mishaps. I adored rooting for her romance and…
1. Read a book written by someone who is different from you.2. Analyze the lyrics to your favorite song.3. Write for 100 days straight.4. Familiarize yourself with The Chicago Manual of Style.5. Sign up for The Hot Sheet. 6. Hire an editor. 7. Read poetry for a month.8. Talk to a stranger in line and make him…
It isn't a room of one's own (though it certainly helps). It isn't a fancy Mac or the nicest pen (not that I don't love those things). To quote Huey Lewis and the News: "It don't take money; it don't take fame." It is something that is free, but it is hard to obtain (the rhyme…
It was a Thursday night in Tokyo. I was having a blast at a get-together with a bunch of ex-pats at a bar (the fast bonding that is depicted in Lost in Translation is real), but I was getting tired. I was still a bit jet-lagged (a thirteen-hour time difference is no joke), and my introvert…
Today's newsletter is written by our very own Emily Hogenson! If you are lucky enough to live somewhere where it has already snowed, like I do, you may have already gotten in some snow writing. Snow writing is that wonderful writing that gets done when you are trapped inside, under a blanket; there is a…
Sometimes the internet is a dark place. A really, really dark place. But I've found a bright spot of sunshine. It's called I've Pet That Dog. What is this magic place of puppies and happiness? It is a Twitter account run by a young man named Gideon who takes pictures of cute dogs and writes…
Where in the world have I been the last two weeks? I was in Japan! (Unlike Carmen Sandiego, I was unfortunately not wearing a red fedora.) While I have tons of great writing lessons for you, I decided to just give you one today. (Okay, okay, my jet lag has told me that I should…
Once upon a time, I believed there was a land of "ready." When I reached this place, I would be transformed. Things I was currently afraid of or felt unprepared for would suddenly be easy. I would handle all those dreaded things with grace and perfectly. When I reached this place, the timing would always…
Call me a nerd (I admit it freely), but one of my favorite things to do as a child was back-to-school shopping. While most of my peers were groaning about heading back into the classroom, I was clicking my heels at the prospect of buying a new Lisa Frank notebook or a Trapper Keeper. (My…