I am working through plotting issues myself and returned to these notes from a master class I taught on narrative endings a couple years ago. They are just my …
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writing
5 Funny Irish Writers on How to Write
In case you need some good old Irish inspiration to set aside the green beer for the pen this St. Patrick's Day weekend, I've dug up five funny Irish writers to …
What Do You Get at a Writers Conference?
Several times over the course of the San Francisco Writers Conference last month, I was asked what's in a conference for the writers-panelists. A few of the …
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A Survival Guide to Writers Conferences: 1. Eat Chocolate for Breakfast
A friend who is heading for a writers' conference next month asked if I had any advice, and since it's not the first time I've been asked: 1. Eat Chocolate for …
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Cathy Marie Buchanan: Finding the Writing Life
Earlier this year, when Cathy Marie Buchanan asked if I'd read her new novel, The Painted Girls, I jumped at the chance. I loved her debut, The Day the Falls …
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Isabel Allende on Passion, Writing, and Character
Nice people with common sense do not make interesting characters; they only make good former spouses." - Isabel Allende, from her 2007 TED Talk I listened to …
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Good Grammar is Sexy
As I am deep in the details of the grammar rules, working on copy edits for The Wednesday Daughters, my thought for the day: (I would love to take credit for …
Streetcars and Desire, Tennessee Williams and Writing
What is straight? A line can be straight, or a street, but the human heart, oh, no, it's curved like a road through mountains.” - Tennessee Williams, A …
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Downton Abbey: An Inspirational Writing Story
Downton Abbey is one of my three television weaknesses (along with The News Hour and the Daily Show). And I'm not one to read about what I watch. But I found …
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Anne Tyler on 1st Drafts
"I would advise any beginning writer to write the first drafts as if no one else will ever read them - without a thought about publication - and only in the …
