Memories
Similar Posts
How it’s going
I’m trying to describe my computer problem to Ken (not his real name; he didn’t ask to be in my blog), the guy who solves all my computer problems. Me: “I’m in Spain, Ken. I need a new laptop because mine is starting to freeze up. And my charger quit working last week – it…
The trials of being a writer
“Follow up with Miranda,” the note on my schedule says. Miranda is the main character in a novel I’m writing and I’m staring at this note, trying to figure out why I’m following up with her. Did I mean “Revise Chapter 9” or something? So I open the mansucript, and I start exploring what kind…
How to: Your book and its competition
One of the most difficult parts of writing a non-fiction book proposal is putting together the competitive analysis (this goes by various names but is basically the section where you compare your book to others like it). People often make several common mistakes. 1. They write the competitive analysis after they’ve written the rest of the proposal —…
Dojo Wisdom for Writers Book Club – Lesson #5
Welcome to the Dojo Wisdom for Writers Book Club! Every Wednesday, we meet to discuss one of the lessons in Dojo Wisdom for Writers. We’ll go in order, so it’s easy enough to follow along. Read the lesson, then read the blog post, then comment in the comments! Do feel free to comment on each…
Me and alpha male characters, a history
I’ve always written what people call strong female characters in a way they never say, “He writes strong male characters” of male authors. I love strong female characters but encountered few of them in fiction as I was growing up, so that’s one reason I like to write them. Another is that I’m kind of…
Meditation on book proposals
If you want to write a non-fiction book, you need a book proposal to convince agents to represent your book and to convince editors to publish it. As a writer, I’ve found that the process of writing the proposal helps me wrestle with the prospect of spending the next year with this project. Do I love…