Finding Your Way As you write each day, you discover your own process. You begin to see there is no “right way” to create and that your objective is simply to let the story live. The first draft is a …
First-Time Novelist
Trusting the Process
Be open to possibilities When I wrote my first novel Diamond Dogs, I had the idea that my hero, a high school senior, gets rid of the body. He accidentally kills a kid while driving late one night on …
Take Risks – Advice for First-Time Writers
“In order to share one's true brilliance one initially has to risk looking like a fool." - Criss Jami Writing your first story is sort of like, well . . . there’s a first time for everything. It’s …
Developing Your Writing Technique
Technique develops over time. By reading and writing, we absorb a sense of story structure, cadence, and rhythm. We learn how to create and release tension. We deepen our relationship to our …
What Happens Next?
The first step in creating a fully alive story is imagining the world. This simply means envisioning your characters in relation to each other and asking, "What happens next?" With each idea or image …
Writing Without Distraction
You’ve begun working in earnest. The story is alive, your cylinders are firing. You’re getting up every morning and putting in the hours. But then, something happens. Life delivers a distraction, …
Creativity is Your Birthright
Creativity is your birthright. We live in a culture that is invested in our believing otherwise. I frequently hear folks talk of talent as though it's a finite commodity. People tend to think you …
A Pencil for Christmas
When I was three, my mother asked me what I wanted for Christmas, and I said I wanted a pencil. Oh God, so badly, I wanted one. I ached for my pencil. I dreamt about my pencil. Toys held no interest …
Finishing Your Story: 5 Tips to Get You to the End
For all you writers struggling somewhere in the middle of your manuscript, here are five tips to get you to the end. 1) Create a deadline for yourself. Think of a practical timeframe to complete …
The Difference Between Journaling and Storytelling
The difference between journaling and storytelling is context. Journaling is simply documenting what happened. Storytelling involves illustrating the meaning of what happened. Our goal as storytellers …