National Novel Writing Month (or NaNoWriMo)
Happy National Novel Writing Month everybody! Writing a draft for a 50,000-word novel in a single month is no easy feat, so I figured I would help out those of our readers who are writers currently...
View ArticleThe business of writing
I know I talk a lot about the creative side of writing. Finding inspiration, developing ideas, perfecting your craft and the like. But I saw this piece in writersdigest.com about the business side of...
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Look it up!
Remember that corny cliché about every book ever written being found within the pages of a dictionary? I’ve always gotten such a kick out of that because I love dictionaries. I love the tiny print,...
View ArticleNo more “boy books”
When I first started agenting, I naturally put out a call for submissions. Through my bio and personal essay on this site, and through interviews and postings on other sites and in print, I told anyone...
View ArticleTips from writers, for writers
Stephen King’s short story, “A Death,” was this week’s fiction in the New Yorker, so naturally I started thinking about how I still have to get around to reading 11/22/63 and ON WRITING. Then I...
View ArticleThe Thing and the Other Thing
In college I had a workshop with the writer Tony Earley, who taught us a theory of putting together an effective short story that I have never forgotten. I’m going to spend a bit of time discussing it...
View ArticleBeware of Homophones
Faithful readers of this blog know that I am a bit of a stickler when it comes to grammar/spelling errors in a query. Some agents don’t mind but it’s a big distraction for me. And one of the mistakes...
View ArticleStealing Horses at Grub Street
I’m writing on the train home from Boston, where I spent three days at Grub Street’s Muse and the Marketplace conference. It was a whirlwind of activities, pitch sessions and manuscript critiques. In...
View ArticlePlausibility
As devoted DGLM readers know, we run an in-house book club here to broaden our horizons and keep abreast of categories we might not otherwise investigate. This month, we’re doing thrillers, and while I...
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My love affair with Ann Patchett
I think Ann Patchett is amazing on so many levels. She’s so uniquely talented, is incredibly prolific, and writes nonfiction as well as fiction. I loved her beautiful tribute to Lucy Grealy, Truth...
View ArticleLessons from the romance industry
A few weeks ago, the wonderful people at Long Island Romance Writers asked me to speak at their annual luncheon. What follows is the speech I gave at that event: In the summer of 1999, I had completed...
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The Tempest in a tempest
Last night I attended the Shakespeare in the Park production of The Tempest – well, part of it at least. In case you aren’t familiar with Shakespeare in the Park, it’s one of the most amazing things...
View ArticleOne project at a time
I was flipping through brainpickings.org and came across some writing advice from Henry Miller that I liked and thought I’d share with our readers. Apart from the fact that he was a master at his...
View ArticleIs an MFA in Creative Writing Worth It?
In ten days, I’ll be graduating with an MFA in creative writing. I won’t say it was too much of a challenge; I loved every minute of it (excluding the grueling thesis paper), and I’m actually a little...
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Lessons from a ghostwriter
The work of a writer can take on many forms. Whether it’s articles, nonfiction, short stories, fiction or some combination of all of the above (thinking of Stephen King, Ann Pratchett, our own David...
View Article“WORK all the time.”
I love Jack London. I love him because he struggled through life, never gave up, and got better because of it. He never begrudged life or nature for its callousness. He was never the type of writer who...
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Fall fiction, and a few debut author stories
Not that I want to rush summer, which is my favorite time of year, but I did get a little excited when I saw this roundup of big fall fiction in Publisher’s Weekly, which really is right around the...
View ArticleTake Me On An Adventure
I immediately wanted to take a road trip after reading this article. The accompanying map routes 12 different literary road trips with points for each pitstop in the novels. Most importantly, it...
View ArticleDo you need kids to write for kids?
When I was a children’s book editor—even before I was married—people often asked if I had any children. After all, how could I understand what books kids might like to read if I didn’t have kids of my...
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Finding Time To Write In the Busy Season
There is much rejoicing on Twitter and the general social media parade: fall is (almost) here. It is almost time for scarves and boots, the pumpkin spice takeover, a breath of relief at cooler...
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