Free Your Pen — Eric Maisel’s advice for “Wishing”

Have you ever read a book on the writing process that could not simply be read, savored and applied to your practice? Unable to sit quietly on your bookshelf amid other volumes of writing advice, certain publications stir your inner creative force and cry out to be shared. (If you would like to tell us […]

Act 1, Scene 1, Page 1. Need your critique!

OK, my writer and reader friends, I need your help. I’m attending an exciting event in July, the Pen on Fire Speaker Series at Laguna Beach Books. On hand will be literary agents Barbara DeMarco Barrett, Jamie Weiss Chilton, Jill Marr and Sally van Haitsma who have agreed to review a single page of selected […]

What are your favorite books for writers?

There are countless high-quality publications available on the subject of writing. Some of my all-time faves? I can’t remember how many times I’ve joyfully referred back to Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, and Vein of Gold. Superb, helpful, heart-opening, fear-rending, spirit-growing and motivational stuff! While they seem a bit outdated now, I enjoyed The Sell […]

5 Tips for Writing More, Writing Better. Cultivating a laser-beam focus

Last week, we lost our Internet connection for more than two full days. The initial shock rendered me temporarily immobile. What could I possibly do? I couldn’t work without connection to the outside world…. could I? No, the pain and discomfort was too much to face. I decided instead to get my car keys and […]

Is a novel’s outline ever really finished? Time to overhaul…

I have finally finished my rewrite of  Chapter Two, after some constructive criticism from my husband. The rewrite helped me envision a more dramatic and challenging path for my character Aaron Langley, which required the introduction of a new character, Bernie Staithe. But doesn’t this compromise my (agonizingly time-consuming) outline? Certainly it does. And therefore […]

Anne Lamott’s tips for growing your creative spirit–and sense of purpose.

I offer you a guest-post of sorts today in the form of excerpts from Time Lost and Found by author Anne Lamott which I just found in the always pleasing Sunset magazine. As a mother who is a freelance writer and editor working from home, I often place my own needs (especially creative diversions) at the […]

Chapter two… Done? Not so fast

It was with a great sense of accomplishment that I completed chapter two. I absolutely loved getting in the mind of Mike Hayden, and introducing his thoughts, some of his history, and his pain from the loss of his beloved Camille. My main character, Treva, was originally supposed to be Mike’s son, but when I […]

Your Aha! Moment – Neural Evidence for Sudden Insight

A recent study published by the Cell Press in the May 13 issue of the journal Neuron supports the idea of “a-ha” moments in the brain that are associated with sudden insight. In the words of Albert Einstein, “You can never solve a problem on the level on which it was created.” Our daily lives […]