Blog
Mash-Ups, Genre Swaps, and Unexpected Voices
At a recent writing conference, an aspiring author asked literary agent, Heidi Gordon, about current market trends. After giving the initial caveats, she answered: "Everyone loves mash-ups right now." She rattled off some intentionally ridiculous examples that got...
The Post-Conference Crash: Keeping Momentum After a Writing Conference
There is a distinct flavor of euphoria that belongs exclusively to the final afternoon of a writing conference. Your notebook is packed with game-changing insights, your chest is buzzing with that kinetic fission of hope, and your heart is full after days of hugging...
Story Genius: Learning Why Characters Believe What They Believe
When I first picked up Story Genius by Lisa Cron, I was in the middle of an intense season of studying story structure. My critique group and I were learning to think like engineers, dissecting manuscripts with terms like Midpoint, First Plot Point, and character arc....
The Fission of Hope: What Writing Conferences Grow
Writing conferences are expensive. Not just financially. They demand time, energy, travel, planning, accessibility advocacy, and often a complicated reshuffling of responsibilities at home. In my recent post, I explored those invisible costs and the barriers many...
Writing Craft Books that Shaped my Journey: Story Engineering
For my first five years as a writer, I focused almost entirely on mastering the craft of prose. After joining SCBWI, I was invited into a critique group made up of an eclectic mix of picture book creators, middle grade authors, and YA novelists. The mentors in that...
The Midnight Tax: When “Productivity” Costs Too Much
A month without a laptop wasn't part of my writing productivity plan. Like most writers, I rely on a carefully built routine. I believe in sustainable productivity, steady progress, and protecting creative energy from the burnout that comes with constant hustle. In...
Writing Craft Books That Shaped My Journey: ‘On Writing’ by Stephen King
I read Stephen King's On Writing early in my writing journey. At the time, I was voraciously searching for writing craft books that might help me understand how stories worked and how writers actually learned their craft. The funny thing is that I had never read a...
The Invisible Costs of Writing Conferences: Working the Edges of the Bell Curve
“The hardest work of a conference happens before we ever arrive.” -Amelia Loken
Writing Craft Books that Shaped My Journey: Save the Cat!
Learning the Language of Story When I first read Save the Cat! by Blake Snyder, I was about a year or two into writing my first novel. Like many aspiring writers, I had spent most of my life consuming stories without fully understanding how they worked. I didn't know...
Writing Craft Books that Shaped my Journey
Innocence or Ignorance? Early in my writing journey, nearly eighteen years ago, I didn’t have a road map. I had a story I loved, a stack of library books, and the kind of earnest determination that makes you believe you can figure out anything if you squint hard...