Have you ever written a tagline for your story? A tagline is a few words or a sentence that captures the essence of your story. It’s not a description of your story.  When done well, taglines hint at the tone, capture conflict, and hook the reader into picking up the book through feel and emotion.  […]

The black screen stares back at me, taunting me.Have I offended you in some way?Do I care?You believe you hold the cosmos within your grasp.I believe you’re a helpful tool that can be distracting.You also connect me to people worldwide and supply unlimited knowledge. I honor you for that.Let’s call a detente, and I’ll remove

The shaded lamp hangs over my desk,                          illuminating myalpha-numeric computer keyboard but not my thoughts.All these lettersshould combine to make words,But my mind refusesto find a pattern that makes sense. ___________________________                           

Have you ever had an elephant in your head? An elephant stomping about in your head. Taking up space. Giving you a headache…  …Whenever it’s time to write. Elephants invade all writers’ heads at some point in their writing lives. The elephant causes writers to stare aimlessly at their screens.  Twiddle their pens.  Flip through

Have you ever found yourself struggling through a beat sheet, or struggling through the turning point at the end of Act 1, or throwing your hands up over a certain character? Or, maybe you simply can’t get yourself to pull the trigger, and you’re stuck in “the-story-lives-in-my head” mode and don’t have a single word

In my experience working with writers I’ve discovered three types of writers: Plotters, Pantsers, and Pagers. (I’m using the names plotters and pantsers because these are used universally, although they’re not precise descriptions.) Plotter If you’re a Plotter you like to plan everything ahead. You might have detailed character bibles, and/or world-building bibles, you have

I recently asked a writer in a coaching session what she felt she needed the most help with. “Save me from formula!” she blurted out.  She was certain the story she had written was formulaic.  For her, this was the worst possible thing that could be wrong with her story. “Hold on,” I said. “Let’s

“I’m not really a writer. I’m just writing this for fun.”“I won’t get published. I just want to write it so I can say I wrote a book.”“I’ve been working on this for 11 years. It probably won’t get published.” Those are all things writers have said to me when they first started working with

“If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.” Stephen King said that. To grow as a writer, it’s critical to read. A lot. What’s more, reading will help you feel less stressed and help you live longer. Who knew? Here are six science-backed

Over the last four days, I told you about common obstacles writers often face and some strategies to overcome them. Have you noticed a pattern? These obstacles are not craft related. They’re not about dialogue subtext, or how to outline a novel, or invent a fresh, worthy antagonist. They’re about mindset. You can learn craft