Charlotte Maya's memoir, Sushi Tuesdays, came out in February. It's about her husband's suicide, and I will admit to being a little daunted by the subject matter when I first heard about it. Nobody likes to think about such devastating loss, but … [Continue reading] about Author Interview: Charlotte Maya
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Avoiding Detail Overload in Our Writing
A while back, I wrote a post about how details are the key to writing ourselves out of cliché. I shared my take on what a cliché is and how we, as writers, can weed them out. The very first response I got to that post was from a reader who said he … [Continue reading] about Avoiding Detail Overload in Our Writing
We Don’t Have to Suffer
On my first meditation retreat in 2009, the teacher gave a talk about the difference between pain and suffering, and I was NOT getting it. Pain and suffering. They go together like chocolate and peanut butter. To be in pain is to suffer. We suffer … [Continue reading] about We Don’t Have to Suffer
Hang a Lantern on Your Plot Problems
Back when I was doing final revisions on my first novel, I found a small plot hole. It was nothing major, but one of my beta readers noticed it (thanks Summer!) and I couldn't decide what to do about it. It wasn't a big enough issue that I wanted to … [Continue reading] about Hang a Lantern on Your Plot Problems
Writing Brain and Editing Brain
The older I get, the more I recognize my writing brain and my editing brain as two distinct parts of myself. Writing Brain My writing brain is creative. It has all kinds of crazy ideas. This is the brain I need engaged when I'm working on a … [Continue reading] about Writing Brain and Editing Brain
Working With Beta Readers (Bonus Round)
A while back I wrote this blog post on 7 Tips for Working With Beta Readers, and I recently had a conversation that inspired me to add a few more thoughts on the topic. Consider this a bonus round. The conversation was with a client who, since … [Continue reading] about Working With Beta Readers (Bonus Round)
Talkin’ ‘Bout the ‘Trich
My husband told ChatGPT to write hip-hop lyrics about ostriches in the style of Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. It wrote a whole song in a matter of seconds: Verse 1 (Dr. Dre): Yo, check it out, we're talkin' ostriches, These big ol' birds, they're so … [Continue reading] about Talkin’ ‘Bout the ‘Trich