One of the biggest mistakes you can make as a writer is to decide you don't need feedback. No matter how long you've been writing or how...

This is my eighth year of doing NaNoWriMo. And this will be the first one at which I will fail. For anyone who hasn't heard me, or...

A phrase I find myself using more and more in the writing community is "no gatekeeping." I'll admit, the first time I heard someone use...

Another day, another personal rejection on my favorite short story (that I've ever written, anyway. All Summer in a Day and The Lottery...

Facebook reminded me yesterday that it's been twelve years since I quit smoking. I posted about it with a note that if my quitting...

Another week, another author behaving badly toward a reviewer. You'd think, as a whole, prior incidents would act as a cautionary tale....

While I've aspired to be a writer for most of my life, I was not always a great reader. Shocking, I know, but absolutely true. I had a...

When I turned 30, I made a bunch of goals to meet before I turned 40. I wanted to, in no particular order: run a marathon learn a second...

I finished my NaNoWriMo novel 5 months ago, almost to the day. In the following weeks I was MOTIVATED. I was going to EDIT THE HELL out...

I write a lot about memories. As a subject they are intensely fascinating. For example- what is your earliest memory? Not little wisps of...

My blog has been pretty quiet this year. To be honest, I haven't had much to say about writing as I've barely done any. Most of my time...

Toward the end of last year, I felt a little (a lot) pleased with myself for all I accomplished with my writing. Last year I: created...

The first time I finished writing a novel was in 2013. I was severely manic and had been manic for months with no end in sight. Think:...

I recently did a podcast interview and told basically everyone I've ever met about said interview. The day it aired, I was afraid to...

The first time I attempted to write a novel during the month of November, I'd heard the term National Novel Writing Month in passing at...

Decades ago I was in a collegiate journalism program with a woman we'll call *Celia. She was a truly gifted writer. She was also one of...

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, as a writer you’ve heard the famous Ernest Hemingway quote about writing. "There is nothing to...

I am a fiercely independent person. Is it because I’m a Taurus? If you believe in astrology, yes. Is it why I’m an Enneagram type 4?...