On working with writers
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Interview How to: Two common mistakes writers make
First off, let me say that I’ve never been a newspaper reporter, have never set foot inside a journalism school and only know who William Allen White is because there’s a building named after him at my alma mater. I do write for magazines, but that does not make up the majority of my writing. …
Thinking Like an Agent, Part 3
Back when I was working as a literary agent, Writer’s Digest published an article I wrote on thinking like an agent. Though I’m an acquisitions editor now, not an agent, these pointers are all still true. I wanted to update them and share them with you. What I wrote then: 3. It’s easier to pitch…
How a Book Is Born, Part 13
I’m getting closer and closer to the end, which means I have to figure out the best way to tie up the plot – to create an emotionally satisfying resolution. Often I have this in mind from the beginning, and the writing just drives toward that resolution. Many times I have known the ending before…
Naked Writing – 7
This week, I decided that something needed to happen to make the narrator’s situation feel more urgent and dangerous, so I decided to have something bad happen to the investigator, Mickey. But since I don’t want there to be dead bodies already, I decided just to have him be threatened and to assume it’s because…
How a Book Is Born, Part 8
Writing this way has required me to change my process a little. As I’ve said, I normally write an extended outline that blocks out the major action of the plot and the emotional turning points, and then I layer in the details in as many as five or even ten complete revisions. But I don’t…
On Creativity
This is an excerpt from Dojo Wisdom for Writers, second edition Lesson #4: From your chi flows your creativity Chi (also qi and ki) is the life force that permeates the universe. You can think of this as your inner energy or enthusiasm, if that suits your mindset better. Martial artists learn to tap…
