Hi, friends! I’ve written before about how I always have a movie of the month. In September, my movie was Dead Poets Society, which made me nostalgic for my undergraduate days. It’s funny that the movie had that effect on me, though. For the most part, the boarding school in the movie is a place of conformity, restriction, and heavy-handed (literally)

Hi friends! It’s WIP Wednesday—the first Wednesday of the month, when I share an excerpt of a work in progress and invite you to do the same in the comments section below. If it’s rough, that’s fine. That’s the “in progress” part! We don’t critique anything, but encouraging words to fellow authors are good karma. Please keep your excerpt under

One of the big questions writers run into is, “What should I name my character?” There are good reasons to take character naming seriously. If an agent or editor is reading a query letter, or if someone in a bookstore is reading the back cover of a book, the characters’ names are one of the first things they learn about

It’s the first Wednesday of September! That might not mean a lot in many places, but around here, it means that it’s WIP Wednesday. I share an excerpt of a work in progress…you do the same in the comments, if you are so inclined…and maybe we get energized for our writing goals! There are a few rules: *excerpt should be

Writers, I know how it is. You need to write a hopeful beginning, an upbeat scene where two friends meet, an adorable date, a triumphant moment, or a happy ending. And you need to get into the right mood. Here’s an uplifting playlist to help you feel happy and put that happiness down on the page. It has an overall

Hey! I am giving this post a content warning for brief references to suicidal ideation, abuse, rape, and child rape and sexual assault. If you have PTSD from these experiences and you’re not having a good day today, please give it a pass. Take care of yourself! One of the big questions that comes up for writers is, “Is it