Writing Tips

Ten years ago today, on the 40th anniversary of Sandra ...

Finding a good literary agent – which is generally the ...

I am working through plotting issues myself and returned to ...

No Social Distancing Required for Fictional Friends Like many now, ...

So much great news to share on my forthcoming novel, ...

The two books that made me dream of becoming a ...

I’m in Paris, working on a new novel, and just ...

It’s a rainy evening in Paris, just minutes before the ...

Just one more day for a prepublication copy of my ...

In celebration of Nanowrimo, I’m rerunning some of my favorite ...

For NanoWriMo month, I’m going to repost some of my ...

Pencil, from the Latin penicillus, meaning “little tail.” Little tail? ...

I know — and use — Wikipedia on a pretty ...

On this day 100 years ago, 18-year-old Ernest Hemingway (yes, ...

I was saddened to hear the news last night that ...

Last year I started an effort to share a quote ...

I’m delighted to have as my guest this week Jennifer ...

Another bit of great writing advice from John Steinbeck: ...

John Steinbeck Supports for #NANOWRIMO ...

Advice from Steinbeck to kick off #Nanowrimo ...

Today marks the anniversary of the publication in 1940 of ...

Nobel- and Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Toni Morrison‘s novels include The ...

My guest today, Anne Michaud, is a veteran political journalist ...

For the first day of fall, from Nora Ephron: Don’t ...

25 Quotes on Writing and Life from a few Amazing ...

"Reading is bliss." - Nora Ephron ...

Today's guest author, Ethel Rohan, has just released her third ...

If you’ve heard me speak, you might know this is ...

Well, it’s been a tough couple months and I’ve fallen ...

Harper Lee would have been 91 today. Seems a good ...

Again, the amazing Nora Ephron, this one from “When Harry ...

A bit of love for @loftliterary ...

Today’s quote, just because I like it: Writing is a ...

Last but not least at the luncheon table last week ...

I recently participated in Aaron Sorkin’s online screenwriting master class, ...

I was blown away when Lalita Tademy, author of the ...

Well if today’s quote, from the third side of my ...

Since I started this series, which I might call “Ladies ...

Today’s quote, from Peggy Orenstein, will complete the first side ...

Another quote from a lunch companion: In the great design ...

7 bits of Irish wisdom for St. Patrick's Day ...

I had the loveliest lunch yesterday, a gathering of nine ...

I’m looking forward to lunch today with some terrific authors ...

Horton Foote, American author, playwright and screenwriter, was born 101 ...

Today’s quote, from the amazing Anna Quindlen: Books are the ...

I love this quote from Harper Lee:   I never ...

One of my all-time favorite books is To Kill a ...

Today’s quote, on reading, from Jane Austen: I declare after ...

Today’s quote, from Jane Smiley’s Thirteen Ways of Looking at ...

"I try to write parts for women that are as ...

My only advice is to stay aware, listen carefully, and ...

Our finger prints don’t fade from the lives we touch.”- ...

My last post in celebration of the Supreme Court upholding ...

Celebrating the 95th anniversary of the Supreme Court declaring the ...

Celebrating the 95th anniversary of the Supreme Court declaring the ...

Celebrating the 95th anniversary of the Supreme Court declaring the ...

Harriet Scott Chessman, whose new novel, The Lost Sketchbook of ...

Celebrating the 95th anniversary of the Supreme Court declaring the ...

Celebrating the 95th anniversary of the Supreme Court declaring the ...

Ninety-five years ago today, the Supreme Court unanimously declared the ...

Offering this one today, with an alternative: You have to ...

I so loved the movie Hidden Figures that I am ...

Today’s quote, from Elizabeth Strout’s lovely Abide with Me. I ...

I’ve just started reading Christina Baker Kline‘s brand new novel, ...

Today’s quote: Writing is a job, a talent, but it’s ...

Celebrating Anäis Nin’s birthday with one of my favorite quotes ...

Today’s quote comes from my friend Ann Packer‘s latest novel, ...

Not sure what started me on this Emily Dickinson kick, ...

Today is Toni Morrison’s birthday. In presenting her the Medal ...

Closing out the work week with great writing and life ...

Certainly the most poetic writing advice I know of, from ...

Did you know Emily Dickinson wrote her poetry on scraps ...

If you haven’t read Nicole Krauss’s The History of Love, ...

More on the love theme for Valentine’s Day, this time ...

Looking forward to Valentine’s Day Tuesday, how about a love ...

I expect I could fill a whole year of quotes ...

More writing wisdom from Sylvia Plath today: “Some things are ...

For many years, I kept my rejection slips, although I ...

  “I write only because There is a voice within ...

“Perhaps some day I’ll crawl back home, beaten, defeated. But ...

Fair warning: I’m a Sylvia Plath fan and have been ...

From Virginia Woolf: Lock up your libraries if you like; ...

I’m offering today’s quote, from one of the contemporary writers ...

As it’s Gertrude Stein’s birthday today — her 143rd — ...

Today’s quote, from Margaret Atwood, seems as important these days ...

My guest today is debut novelist Abby Fabiaschi, author of ...

More Wisdom from Nora Ephron, from her commencement address to ...

Closing out January with a last quote from Anne Frank: ...

Today’s quote, again from Anne Frank: Again, if you haven’t ...

Staying with the Anne Frank theme today, an important voice ...

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single ...

Day #5 of writing in earnest, and a little humor ...

Day #4 of writing in earnest, and here is a ...

Day #3 of writing in earnest, and I’m offering a ...

Day #2 of writing in earnest: Make up a story… ...

I’m buckling down to write in earnest this week, so ...

Love this quote and what it says about the term ...

I thought a quote from a literary great about women’s ...

Another from my fave, Eleanor Roosevelt, whose “My Day” column ...

Today’s, from Toni Morrison, for those of who, like me, ...

I do hope that as you enjoy this quote you ...

Staying on the dream theme for another day here: The ...

"Lift up your eyes upon / The day breaking for ...

For the second post of this Maya Angelou weekend … ...

You can only become truly accomplished at something you love... ...

Call this a J.K. Rowling 3-fer, which yes, may have ...

This video featuring Pixar screenwriter Michael Arndt is a terrific ...

And on a J.K. Rowling streak to match my Jane ...

It is our choices ... that show what we truly ...

Keeping with the reading theme here for a few days, ...

On this day when I know it is snowy and ...

"The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not ...

But for my own part, if a book is well ...

Today, wisdom from French writer Simone de Beauvoir: Change your ...

Today’s quote — with an image! — from American novelist ...

“Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the ...

“If you don’t risk anything, you risk even more.” - ...

“When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes ...

“It is never too late to be what you might ...

6 informative writing tips -- and a few extra funny ...

Lucy Jane Bledsoe is the author of the just-released A ...

“My spelling is Wobbly. It’s good spelling but it Wobbles, ...

Ann Douglas is the author of numerous books about parenting, ...

I thought those of you writing crime fiction might like ...

Be strange. It's the secret of great writing. No one ...

Micah Perks won an NEA grant and The New Guard ...

This week’s 1 Thing Thursday: Consider entering a contest! I ...

Ruth Whippman is a British journalist, author and documentary film-maker ...

I’m delighted to kick off a new 1st Books feature–3 ...

This week’s 1 Thing Thursday asks the question: How Long ...

Constance Hale is a San Francisco–based journalist probably best known ...

For today’s 1 Thing Thursday, I offer you a charmingly ...

I love this post by this week’s guest author, Aya ...

I decided when I was traveling to add what I ...

Since today is the 71st anniversary of the End of ...

My guest today, Marian Palaia, is a San Francisco (and ...

What makes people follow, favorite, click, and retweet? This post ...

For her latest novel, The Things We Wish Were True, ...

When I first started this blog, I wrote a post (run ...

Did you know that Sunday mornings from mid-September through June, ...

For Memorial Day, five quotes from great writers about the ...

  Harper Books, which published my latest novel, has had ...

I’ve been crazy busy lately, and sadly remiss about hosting ...

I’ve collected a few nice Irish quotes — and two ...

I woke this morning to the news that Pat Conroy ...

To put you in a literary Valentine’s Day Mood, 8 ...

I’m pushing two projects forward now, and my heart is ...

May I recommend this interview -- Elizabeth Strout with Terry ...

Elizabeth Strout's first novel was published in 2000 which, if ...

The best way I know of the celebrate the holidays ...

3 Writing programs worth a look ...

On this day in 1900, Henry James first wrote to ...

“A word after a word after a word is power.” ...

Karma Brown is an award-winning journalist and freelance writer whose first ...

I’m so delighted today to be back at the 1st ...

I’m still touring — in Minneapolis and Chicago this coming ...

Lisa Brackmann is the critically acclaimed author of the Ellie ...

Amy Reichert‘s debut novel, The Coincidence of Coconut Cake, was ...

Writer Wins Love Lottery Because this is a writing blog, ...

This is how a literary friendship begins: on a train ...

Lucky all of us who love great fiction: a new ...

a few literary fathers and Fathers Day Quotes that illustrate ...

(Or, how I spent my Sunday night on a virtual ...

Lori Nelson Spielman”s debut, The Life List, became a #1 ...

For a little literary fun, Match the Amazon 1-Star Review ...

Debut novelist Laura Nicole Diamond started with a legal career ...

Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke write novels. Together. And they ...

10 Writing Tips from the Writing Masters for Writing this ...

I’m celebrating the 7th anniversary of 1st Books this week ...

Bestseller Meg Donohue has a new novel, Dog Crazy, just out, ...

What makes people follow, favorite, click, and retweet? ...

I’m so delighted today to host fellow Marly Rusoff author ...

As a young adolescent, I fell hard for Stephen King ...

One of these 13 writing prompts were my way into ...

My guest this week, Christine Breen hails from Kiltumper, Ireland, ...

Fitzgerald never lived to see The Great Gatsby acknowledged as ...

Barbara Stark-Nemon‘s debut novel, Even in Darkness, has been called ...

When Mac and I first explored Pacific Grove almost two ...

The truth is the combination of dazzling on the page ...

Did you know April is National Poetry Month? The Academy of ...

Anita Hughes's story of how her first novel, Monarch Beach, ...

I’m so delighted today to host one of the most ...

Funny advice from Irish writers for St. Patrick's Day, including ...

I am so incredibly delighted to host my dear dear ...

I have a two guests this week, so I’m doing ...

The theme this year is "Make it happen." For me, ...

It’s about weaving the rich history of the place into ...

...A week later I had a rough draft, very short ...

Choosing the right details and working them into the text ...

Tatjana Soli guest posted here when her first novel, The ...

My novel was on my mind every single day for ...

One of the dearest and most generous writers I know, ...

Heavens to Betsy! I don’t often like to talk about ...

The Shadow Queen author Sandra Gulland shares her story of ...

Unless you're an editor willing to wrap up a book ...

I had the great fortune to read a galley for Ann ...

Elizabeth Enslin is a Stanford Ph.D who has done research in ...

Diane Drake, my teacher for an online screenwriting course I’m ...

My guest author today is my friend and fellow Bay ...

the books aren’t shelved alphabetically, but the booksellers can find ...

Désirée Zamorano‘s novel The Amado Women is just out from ...

Liz Rosner has not one but two books coming out now ...

Delighted to host Elena Mauli Shapiro, who first appeared here ...

I always love hosting debut novelists here, and ones who ...

Debut novelist Shelly King is a Silicon Valley social media strategist ...

If you think you have an excuse not to write, ...

A Pinch of Ooh La La by Renee Swindle just released ...

It’s not just about the running. I’ve been a runner ...

I am SO delighted to host my SheWrites.com pal, Cassandra ...

By the time Robin Black applied to the MFA program ...

We writers do write what we know, even if we’re ...

It took me ten years to get my first novel ...

Tracy Guzeman guest posted here when her debut novel, The Gravity ...

Julia Fierro is the author of Cutting Teeth, which was ...

This week’s guest authors, Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke, have ...

The 2014 Bailey Prize winner (formerly the Orange Prize) for ...

April is National Poetry Month, and today — the one ...

Kelly O’Connor McNees guest posted here when her first novel, ...

Can you identify what is different about this list of ...

Harpers calls Katie Hafner’s sixth book, Mother Daughter Me, “an ...

Sandra Gulland’s fifth novel, The Shadow Queen, “will remind readers ...

Winter Palace author Eva Stachniak blogs about how she started ...

My very dear friend M.J. Rose has a new novel, ...

Amy Tan calls the just-released memoir of today’s guest, Jenny ...

Cara Black, the New York Times bestselling author of the ...

When Cathy Marie Buchanan asked if I’d read her new novel, The Painted ...

My guest author this week, Elizabeth Scarboro, is the author ...

I’m just delighted to host Ariel Lawhon, whose debut novel, ...

Happy New Year, everyone! I’m kicking off 2014 with a ...

When my husband and I first got married and his ...

  1st Books will be back in 2014! Enjoy the ...

I’m ever curious how the New York Times editors’ book taste ...

an amazing Colorado indie now at the airport, in case ...

Unless you’re an editor willing to wrap up a book ...

I first hosted New York Times bestselling author Allison Winn Scotch’s on 1st ...

After I read in the New York Times that The ...

I am so delighted to host Harriet Scott Chessman on the occasion ...

Today’s guest author, Sara J. Henry, is a LONGtime friend. We were ...

I’m delighted to be hosting my friend Ellen Kirschman, a ...

The House Girl author Tara Conklin did a wonderful post here about the ...

Tatjana Soli guest posted here when her first novel, The Lotus Eaters released. ...

To celebrate the paperback publication of Dan Chaon‘s story collection Stay ...

My guest this week, Kathleen McCleary, is a journalist and ...

Ann Mah shares her story of writing her gorgeous new ...

On this autumnal equinox – the perfect balance of day ...

Early in my writing career, I had the incredible good ...

Agatha Christie was born 123 years ago today–an old bird ...

Just in case you haven’t heard, Jamie Ford has a ...

I’m delighted to welcome Nick Taylor back to 1st Books. ...

My guest this week, Constance Hale, wrote “probably the hippest ...

I heard on NPR this morning that Elmore Leonard passed ...

My guest this week is the wonderful mystery writer and ...

I had the absolute delight of introducing the absolutely delightful ...

A cool bookstore–in so many ways! I was just on ...

I grew up reading Agatha Christie, and mysteries remain my ...

One true story I perhaps shouldn’t admit: The original title ...

Warwick’s knows books, and luncheon menus, too! When I was ...

No guest today. Just me, since it’s my publication week! ...

Wordsworth and his brother were walking in the English Lakes ...

It’s always a pleasure to host debut authors on 1st ...

“The fells are never twice alike.” – Beatrix Potter, from ...

Nina Schuyler’s first novel, The Painting, was nominated for the ...

Today’s guest author, Leslie Lehr, is the author of the ...

“Some of the walls were four feet thick, and there ...

I first connected with Sally Koslow when I was asked to read ...

Just a few of my favorite literary quotes about fathers, ...

If you don’t know where the English Lakes are, pull ...

This week’s 1st Books guest, Marybeth Whalen, is the author of ...

...

When I first met Sarah Jio – at the Pulpwood Queens ...

I know, I know. Caramel. Crunch. Or maybe it’s the ...

I first “met” today’s guest author, Amy Sue Nathan, when ...

Chaucer's Books - a terrific independent bookstore Santa Barbara CA ...

Joan Steinau Lester’s second novel, Mama’s Child released yesterday. Alice ...

So much good news to smush in to one post, ...

The New York Times Modern Love column had already turned ...

On this last day of National Poetry Month, I’m keeping ...

If you’re in the San Francisco Bay area and don’t ...

Having only recently learned to size my Timeline photos 403×403 ...

Allie Larkin is the internationally bestselling author of the novel ...

Poet Joan Gelfand is chipping in for the 1st Books ...

Can I resist the excuse of the intersection of Earth ...

Of the many wonderful moments in National Poetry month, my ...

Elizabeth Benedict is the author of five novels, including the bestseller ...

Mary Mackey and I belong to a San Francisco Bay ...

I’m delighted today to host Caroline Paul, whose Lost Cat ...

Elizabeth Block is a poets who has also received national ...

My fellow 85 Broad, Shannon Huffman Polson, has a first ...

It’s April, National poetry month, and I’m delighted to have ...

In a small moment, I’m left steeped in some feeling ...

I’ve been using social media interfacing software for some time ...

Barbara Walters broke the glass so many times in her ...

I could not be more delighted to be hosting Ellen ...

Nichole Bernier’s fabulous The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D – ...

great fiction at the front of the store, and terrific ...

8 Great Tips for Successful Writing Groups, from The Company ...

Monica Wesolowska's first book, Holding Silvan, was decades in the ...

If you want to be a writer, or any kind ...

What makes people follow, favorite, click, and retweet? And does ...

For most of history, Anonymous was a (feminist) woman - ...

Since there is no way that I know of to ...

Have you been to Copperfield's Books lately? These fabulous stores ...

What's in a writers conference for the writers-panelists? Gets me ...

Recently, a thread in an online writer's community popped up, ...

A box of the early reader copies of The Wednesday ...

I read a poem last night that was both lovely ...

“I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, ...

This week’s guest author, Julie Kibler, began writing Calling Me ...

my bookstore the summer I became a fanatic reader I ...

I did a panel on writing dialogue at the San ...

There are so many reasons I am absolutely delighted to ...

I sent a tweet to my friend Caroline Leavitt yesterday ...

The Wednesday Daughters galley pages have arrived! Is there a ...

Two wonderful authors who’ve posted in the past for me, ...

This little heart I was so proud of Friday garnered ...

A Survival Guide to Writers' Conferences: 1. Eat Chocolate for ...

This week, I’m rerunning two previous posts, one to celebrate ...

In case you haven’t been watching, the ALA awarded the ...

I’m often asked if I always wanted to be a ...

I went to graduate school right after college, in part ...

An easy to-do for anyone with a personal facebook page ...

I recently posted on my Huffington Post blog a Twitterature ...

That has been my saving grace, I firmly believe; my ...

The answers run the gammut, including "quirky books," "popular subjects ...

Last year, when I read Courtney Sullivan‘s take on An ...

A novel is a big, floppy thing with sleeves and ...

A funny, engaging, moving, and insightful 17-minute talk by author ...

he essential impulse in working is to allow what ...

...

Fire and Ice by Robert Frost Some say the world ...

Good grammar is sexy. ...

Want to enter the comma lottery? I just got exactly ...

Where is human nature so weak as in the bookstore?” ...

“What is straight? A line can be straight, or a ...

The Random House Publishing Group (my happy literary home!) just ...

the true story of the flood If you’re looking for ...

How sad that this wonderful book image, which I found ...

Who knew Cape Cod had so many great bookstores and ...

Growing up, I was never a big fan of dressing, ...

Tara Ison is the author of the novels A Child ...

Today (horray!) is the publication date for My Bookstore: Writers ...

Maybe it’s just that I’m waiting for copyedits on The ...

Today’s guest author, Linda Herman, is the author of Parents ...

"here never will be complete equality until women themselves help ...

I could not be more thrilled to be sharing the ...

I was desperate for something that was mine, that ... ...

I’m in that wonderful place for a writer: between reviews. ...

The San Jose Mercury News calls Indian Voices: Listening to ...

Just got an email about Lit Camp, the Bay Area’s ...

I was just about to tweet the E.B. White quote ...

I pasted a late-process draft of The Wednesday Daughters into ...

Charming suburban Chicago bookstore with smart booksellers and great events ...

Kelly O’Connor McNees guest posted here when her first novel, ...

I like to have a Martini, two at the very ...

You’re still here? Hey, why don’t you go read a ...

My teenaged bookstore I have a sentimental attachment to The ...

Debra Dean’s bestselling debut novel, The Madonnas of Leningrad was ...

Today kicks off National Breast Cancer Awareness month, and as ...

Today is the first day of Banned Books Week, and ...

I’d love to get lost in this very cool book ...

I met Victoria Brown at the fabulous Christamore House Guild ...

Brenda Rickman Vantrease and I stopped in to see Parnassus ...

Does it get tastier than this? Well, maybe if there ...

From the Harper Voyager Website: For the first time in ...

Karen Brown’s Pins and Needles received AWP’s Grace Paley Prize for Short ...

I came across the very funny “How to Chat Up ...

David Abrams’ debut novel, Fobbit, is one of the most ...

Tatjana Soli guest posted here when her first novel, The ...

Today’s friday fun comes from Seòras’ photostream on Fickr, which ...

a book store with exceptional warmth and charm Kristina McMorris, ...

My long-time friend Rayme Waters has just published her debut ...

“If you can’t stand your own company alone in a ...

an indie store on Harvard Square We’re headed to the ...

A former indie bookseller, The Map of Lost Memories author ...

And if so, what? I’m glad to see I’m not ...

my son’s favorite hangout When I visited Cambridge, Massachusettes this ...

This wonderful sheet is a collaborative art project done by ...

My baby brother, who lives in Berlin, Germany most of ...

This week’s guest, Seattle novelist Heather Barbieri, has published Snow ...

Four years ago this month and just a couple weeks ...

To borrow from the good Dr. S: Congratulations! Today is ...

To celebrate the paperback publication of Silver Sparrow by my ...

I came across this lovely bit in Nancy Pearl’s Book ...

I’ve known Thaisa Frank since about the time my first ...

warm and cozy, with walls and tables filled with books, ...

Because so many people have asked me how to do ...

How unlucky can a day be when it inspires words ...

Katharine Britton was by one measure fifty years to getting ...

better than a winery tour, and at author events you ...

An email from a reader this morning reminded me of ...

a little bookstore with an amazing selection, and even more ...

These tights singlehandedly inspired me to start a new occasional ...

My dear friend and guest author this week, Catherine Brady, ...

“Grocery Stories” Perhaps the only place more special than a ...

Do you want to hear how it works from the ...

I met Claire McMillan through Twitter, in part because we ...

I’m not generally a big fan of writing contests with ...

I first connected with Sally Koslow when I was asked ...

Joshua Henkin wanted to be a fiction writer when he ...

One really stressful prospect for authors is that we will ...

President Obama, in presenting the Medal of Freedom to Toni ...

Last year I had the pleasure of hosting debut novelist ...

I just heard that fellow WOMBAtista, Rock Bottom Remainderer, writer, ...

Today’s guest author, Sandra Feder, has just published the chapter ...

Because I’m a book person who loves film (even though ...

Before writing her debut novel, Prosper in Love, Deborah Michel ...

Of the many wonderful moments in National Poetry month, my ...

Lynda Rutledge’s path to publishing Faith Bass Darling’s Last Garage Sale – ...

Writing is a little bit like that. There's a lot ...

where Anais Nin, Henry Miller, James Baldwin, and Ernest Hemingway ...

Since April is National Poetry Month, I’ve been looking around ...

How friendly are you, really? Do you have enough followers ...

I met Carolina De Robertis at a book club mixer ...

M.J. Rose – whom I’ve known since before my first novel ...

Cara Black’s twelfth Aimée Leduc mystery, Murder at the Lanterne ...

I came across a delightful interview of Garrison Keillor today. ...

This week’s guest author, Maria Espinosa, is the author of ...

I read the most extraordinary poem yesterday, "what you'd find ...

Randy Sue Meyers is an online writer-pal, and author of ...

t's the dirty little secret none of us likes to ...

Sara Gruen calls this week’s guest author, Alex George “a ...

Have you read Eleanor Brown’s The Weird Sisters yet? She’s ...

Dickens Quotes for Writers, on the Occasion of his 200th ...

I came across a great Wall Street Journal piece on ...

Sarah Pinneo celebrates the publication of her debut novel, Julia’s ...

Terry McMillan calls this week’s guest author, Meredith Maran, “a ...

The Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest is open for submissions through ...

Edith Wharton, the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize ...

“A word after a word after a word is power.” ...

If you are properly modest, you will never write at ...

Years ago I was a finalist for the Barbara Kingsolver-founded ...

...

Before I started writing, I imagined published writers were folks ...

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave ...

My dear friend Julia Flynn Siler was my second guest ...

Was it Baudelaire who said, “Always be a poet, even ...

Which writing friends are you particularly thankful for this Thanksgiving? ...

Todays guest author, Tamar Cohen, comes from London, and is ...