This Literary Life
Somewhere in the depths of my e-mails, I have confirmations that my applications have been submitted. That my short stories have been submitted. That, while this is a great book, this isn't the right fit for an agent. Somewhere in the depths of my e-mails, I have pieces of hope surrounded by landmines. I have [...]
2017. We made it, you guys. We can all agree that last year was harder than most. Whether it's because we were so aware, so in sync, with everything that happened or it was really just that awful, the general consensuses on Twitter is that 2017 is a welcomed breath of fresh air. There hasn't [...]
Congratulations! You've written a lot of words in a short amount of time that is a great first draft! I know, I know. You've heard first drafts are supposedly crap. They should never be seen by anyone, ever, and they're just garbage. A stream of consciousness that you're probably going to re-write at least five [...]
As a reader, you can tell when a voice feels real and authentic or not. You can tell from page one whether or not you're going to connect with the main character -- even if the character is unlikeable, or unreliable. You can connect with them because it feels like they're talking to you, that [...]
Writing advice is always subjective. It'll depend on the person giving the advice and the experience they had. There are rules you should follow, but if you're good enough you can get away with not following them. So people say write every day, some people say don't push yourself. Some say you need to outline books before [...]
I've been tweeting very quietly the past few nights about the new book project I've been working on. This has been a book idea that I've been kicking around for a little while now. An early draft of the opening was even used as my final fiction project for undergrad (and was ultimately the project [...]
I'm not sure what I expected my late twenties to look like, but I don't think this would've been it. Ten years ago I was going to be a Communications major and get into journalism--or something. I knew that Communications was a marketable degree, which meant I had a good chance at getting a job [...]
