Comments

  • Ah, the intorverted writer finds herslef in a crowd, I know the scenario well.  The ve...ple I don't know I still have the tendency to be a wallflower. I'm in observer mode afterall. But, I now teach wr...
  • Facts can confound our imaginations. Conversley, some "stoic deductions" invite controversial conclusions. As a conseqsuence, much is written by those who commit disto...
  • Hi Pia -- I don't know what to tell you when it comes to what to include and whatnot, but I think changing the names of people and some identifying characteristics mig...
  • Excellent subject for discussion. When I posted my novel's summary on this site, I mentioned there are long stretches I can't read aloud. The reason is that my throat...
  • Excellent post, Dee, and great responses in the comments section. I noticed in my own first novel (which I'm currently working on) that not only did I tend to "default...
  • I was looking for arts programs for at-risk teens and found your article. Thanks for s...ays I love it. I love helping people reach their full potential and to be role models for the next generation. Wo...
  • Thanks for a great article, Ellen. Bonnie, one way to narrow down the target audiences for a novel is to look for promotional "hooks" in the book – the location/settin...
  • Do most women care what they look like? Are they aware of a bad hair day? I think some are, but not all, and what they note or do not note speaks volumes re. their cha...
  • Julie, I really love how you used the comparison between writing and archaeology. I never thought of it that way but it all seems to make sense.  I usually write a syn...
  • Good memoirs ones share many characteristics with fiction -- vivid scenes, multi-faceted characters, suspense -- so I would bet, with Cait Levin, that reading memoirs would lead to the same positive increase in empathy as reading fiction.