Perhaps it was a mistake to read James Patterson Inc. back to back with Michael Cunningham’s A Writer Should Always Feel Like He’s In Over His Head. For James Patterson, writing doesn’t seem very hard. Of course, I wouldn’t dare disparage him. Honestly, I’m impressed.…

Check it out! The Writers Circle blog tied for #15 on the 2010 Preditors & Editors Readers Poll! I know it’s not #1, and I never expected it to be. But even reaching #15 in the overcrowded conversation that goes on every day on the…

So often I dwell on the unavoidable truth that writing is hard. Every day as I face the blank or unrevised page, I feel the dread that I won’t be able to fill or fix it, that somehow the difficult work is simply beyond me.…

As an addendum to my last post, Shouting in a Crowd, be sure to read the wise advice of literary agent Nathan Bransford about, yes, promoting your work, but also knowing when enough is enough, focusing on what you’re best at and, most of all…

Written in support of Stuart Lutz, The Last Leaf: Voices of History’s Last-Known Survivors, Stephanie Cowell, Claude & Camille: A Novel of Monet, and all my other friends who have, will, or long to be published. What’s it like to be an author today? To…

In my holiday post, I wished for all of you the gift of time. But time is, as they say, what you make of it. These last few weeks, between the holidays, family commitments, several articles I enjoyed writing, and preparing for my new schedule…

Last Friday as a light sprinkle of snow drifted down, my friend and fellow author, Laurie Lico Albanese, accompanied me on my usual morning walk uphill. Most of you know about my obsession with hiking, nature, and the South Mountain Reservation. Check out Laurie’s thoughts…

The Writers Circle blog is in the running for in the “Preditors & Editors Readers’ Poll” honoring print and electronic publications published during 2009. If you like The Writers Circle, please give it your vote. It’s listed as a “Writers’ Resource/Information/News Source” under “T” (for…

I’ve been reading a lot these past few weeks about the amazing rise of the eBook, and the death of reading, writing and literature as we know it. Amazon ebook sales topped traditional hard-copy format. The future of the book is so precarious that it…

Our group, in no particular order: Chet Ensign, Pamela Friedman, Sandra Joseph (in photo #1), Stuart Lutz, Birgit Matzerath, James McHugh, Lynn Simmons, Stephanie Staszak (in photo #2), Mary Whithed, Lois Cantwell, Betsy Topitzer, Jerry Kaplan, and Judith Lindbergh.

You may have noticed that I don’t often blog about technique. For me, this forum is more about sharing the experience of writing. The truth about craft is that it’s all in the doing. We each confront the blank page or screen time and again.…

Stories – great or small – are made up of a series of scenes. As writers, we focus on perfecting scenic elements and structure – the characters’ inner lives and conflicting objectives build tension to a climax of action, emotion or realization. Then comes the…