Yes, it’s happening again. I’ve managed to work on the manuscript a little bit each day for the past several. At last, I wake up already immersed in the story. For me, that’s different from merely thinking about the story.…
Category: For Writers
New Focus
Thank God Dave’s review of my opener blew it all to bits. Before the explosion there was plenty of witty dialog, irony, nostalgia—even a dash of sexual tease. So what’s not to like? As written, there was nothing thrilling about…
Blow It Up
I’ve been away too long. That’s it. I’ve been longing to post this and dreading it for what seems like forever. I’m rewriting the front end of a book—creating a new premise. Getting rid of a blocky flash forward. I…
Are You Still Mine?
I recently asked my most trusted editor, collaborator and coach (aka my wife Pat) to read through the first three chapters of my second book as I was preparing to pitch it to agents at the upcoming Books Alive Writers…
Robert Frost and a Lump in the Throat
In a letter dated January 1, 1916 to writer and critic Louis Untermeyer, Robert Frost declares, “a poem is never a put-up job—it begins as a lump in the throat, a sense of wrong, a homesickness, a lovesickness.” I…
Authenticate the Moment
How do you bring a character to the edge—the breaking or turning point—a moment that is life changing? Let’s say our character has reached a moment that has been coming for a long time. Maybe today’s the day that…
Getting Closer
Through the glorious process of revision, I have rewritten the beginning and end of my book. I’ve renamed it, added characters, and beefed-up a few who needed more meat on their bones. This is no longer a linear chronology that…
In Search of Voice
Describing an author’s voice is a lot like describing a small town’s charm, or the dominant flavor in a great soup. As writers we need to understand what voice is and be careful to build and preserve a clear and…
He Asked Me to Call Him Bob
My first conversation with Robert Lescher was otherworldly to the point where my editor would nix it as implausible, had I written it that way in fiction. I was aggressively seeking an agent for my first book, which is now titled Dead…
In Search of My Groove
When I finished writing, rewriting, and re-rewriting Dead End Files about two years ago and happily placed it in the hands of a renowned literary agent, I felt my work on that book was complete and it was time to…