Posts Tagged ‘fiction writing’
The Seven Deadly Sins of Writing
As a Europhile and an admirer of medieval churches, I’m always drawn to the fire and brimstone depictions of the seven deadly sins. I’ve been dragging my kids around with me since they were old enough to toddle across ancient floors, pointing out these fascinating frescoes that would explain to the poor parishioners of old…
Read MoreSelf-publishing vs traditional publishing
I think most authors today are following this debate closely. Each year, I attend the Matera Women’s Fiction Festival, and follow the discussion on this topic with authors who have been on both sides. Over at the fabulous Nathan Bransford blog, ‘hybrid’ author (meaning she has published both traditionally and self-published) Natalie Whipple provides some interesting…
Read MoreWriting inspiration on the commute
I’m very pleased to be a car-free commuter. My early morning walk into work is just under 20 minutes and – at the risk of sounding immodest – it’s one of the prettiest commutes ever. I live in Rome and each day I watch the Colosseum loom into sight as I descend the hill in…
Read MoreThe word count conundrum
At some point before submitting, a writer must confront the big question out there : What kind of word count is acceptable to literary agents and publishers? Fortunately, there’s a VERY helpful post for writers from Writer’s Digest on word count, broken down by genre. This is something you may not have considered until the…
Read MoreBrainstorming at the Spa 2014
I’ve heard so many great things about the Brainstorming at the Spa event held each year in Matera, Italy. This year it takes place 4-7 April 2014. This is an event organized by the Women’s Fiction Festival I write so much about, held each year in September in Matera, southern Italy. For the past three…
Read MoreMore writing inspiration on the slopes
As this post goes out, I’ll be wrapping up a great week with my family out on the ski slopes of Italy’s Abruzzo region. I always look forward to a week-long skiing break (heck, if I could, I’d make it a month-long skiing break), and my kids are avid skiers. I’ve written before on skiing…
Read MoreImportant lessons from first-time novelists
The excellent Writers’ Digest web site posted this interesting article on lessons learned by first-time novelists. Five novelists share their experiences along the pathway to publication – discussing their writing lives before their first novel, their submission processes, their experiences with writers conferences, balancing writing and work/family commitments, and what they’d wished they’d known before…
Read MoreWhat are literary agents’ querying pet peeves?
The excellent Writers in the Storm blog posted recently on Query letter pet peeves – Agents speak. Listen up, writers. It’s hard enough to get an agent today. You at least want to do your best to avoid sending your masterpiece out into the world and having it summarily ignored because you’ve inadvertently angered your…
Read MoreWhen life gets in the way of writing…
Just two weeks ago, I was a good girl, getting out my writing resolutions for the new year. But here’s the thing – writing takes time. Lots of it. Yes, we all know that, and those of us who love to write make every effort to squeeze in writing time into our busy schedules. And…
Read MoreAre you a Lone Ranger writer?
Rachelle Gardner’s excellent blog poses the question – Are you a Lone Ranger writer? – in this post. Writing is known as a lonely profession, but as Rachelle points out, the ‘Lone Ranger’ writer who writes in a truly solitary manner is a real rarity today. It’s hard to get published, and writers today are…
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