About ten years I go, I landed a book agent for my second book.

She had read Death by Suburb and said she liked it so much, she'd be happy to help me pitch my second book.

She winnowed my...

I was on Reddit the other day and saw a question from an aspiring writer:

"My writing just doesn't seem to flow well, and no one I know is offering very good constructive criticism so I thought...

We all want to write so people love to read us: "I picked up her book, and I couldn't put it down."

That is a high compliment.

Here's another: "I asked our book club to read it!"

Whoa! Now that may be...

Don’t tell my son (who thinks he has superior taste in movies), but one of my favorite horror films is The Blair Witch Project. 
 
The film is about three aspiring filmmakers who...

I’ve never met a person who loves how they look or sound on video. I know I don’t. 

Is my voice that nasally?
 
Is my hair that thin?
 
Do I look that...

I feel sleazy admitting it, but the Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard defamation trial has been on in the background at our house for the past few weeks. 
 
I’ll blame it on my husband. He...

Every spring my mom crosses her fingers and prays a thousand little prayers that the poppies will bloom at the base of the Organ Mountains, in Las Cruces, New Mexico. 
 
It’s the...

Flashbacks are essential in memoirs and fiction.

They are also indispensible in writing narrative nonfiction.

Here's a basic definition of a flashback:

"A flashback interrupts the chronological order...

Word choice matters.

Mark Twain allegedly said that the difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug.

I often struggle to lay...

Have you ever read a story in which the writer slows you down with two many details?

This is easy to do when we write stories.

One of the most elemental pieces of writing advice is this: Be specific....

“Do I need a platform to publish?”
 
That question is vague enough to be answered in two ways.
 
To make your writing public (our definition of publishing), you need some sort of...

No. You don't.

Many discussions regarding productive writing center around carving out large blocks of time:

* 90-minute blocks (I've espoused this!);

* Half-day writing chunks;

* Writing days; and

*...