April Davila - Author
Back in March, I posted this photo to Instagram showing off the printed pages of the second draft of my second novel. This was right after my book tour was canceled, just a week or so into homeschooling the kids. Back then I found I actually had … [Continue reading] about The First Chapter: Get To The Good Stuff
I heard a story once about Ruth Ozeki's "A Tale For The Time Being." It was 2011 and the book was done, like, done done, at the printers done, when the tsunami hit Japan. The story is about a Japanese teenager and apparently she felt strongly that … [Continue reading] about Writing Difficult Times
Writers are a solitary bunch in the best of times and this pandemic has made it a lot tougher for us to get over our introvert tendencies. No readings to go to, no bars to drink in, no coffee shops in which to set up our laptops and knock out those … [Continue reading] about My Writing Community: An Invitation
You never get a second debut novel. These are words I remember hearing at writing conferences, and from teachers in my graduate program: you don't get a second debut novel. I kind of dismissed them at the time. I mean, duh. You only get one … [Continue reading] about You Never Get A Second Debut Novel
There are stories that are entertaining, beautifully written - and entirely forgettable. The minute I'm done with them, I never think of them again. And then there are stories with emotional resonance. The ones that haunt me. My mind comes back to … [Continue reading] about Cultivating Emotional Resonance
A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of joining Zibby Owens (creator of the Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books Podcast) as part of an Instagram Live series she was hosting while stuck at home (you can see the interview here). It was fun, and I'm … [Continue reading] about Present Tense As A Zoom Lens
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: writers read. Adjust accordingly. But what does it really mean to read like a writer? What do we do differently as writers browsing pages? To answer these questions, I'd like to share an excerpt with … [Continue reading] about How to Read When You Want to Write Better