Many fiction authors seem to have a preference in writing a novel; they either must write the book in order from beginning to end, or they must follow their muse where it leads them, writing ahead as needed. It appears there is consensus among novelists for a beginning-to-end approach, however. That would be consistent with …
Continue reading What is Your Writing Process? Writing in Order
I'm asked a lot of questions in the blogging classes I teach for The Loft Literary Center, but one I'm rarely asked is, "How do I know when it's time to shut down my blog?" It is perhaps the toughest question to answer. It's also critical. If you just go by software registrations, there are …
Continue reading 5 Reasons Why I’m Ending The Artist’s Road Blog
It's one of the largest annual gatherings of creative writers, publishers, and educators in the United States--usually well in excess of 10,000 attendees--and the largest such event for literary writers. Once again I'll be attending the AWP Conference & Bookfair, the Association of Writers and Writing Programs' annual extravaganza. This year the hordes will be …
So that headline says it all, right? I'm very honored that the esteemed literary journal Hunger Mountain has published an excerpt of Committed: A Memoir of the Artist's Road. Best of all, it's free online, so click away! The excerpt is one of several excellent creative works in a special "Mentors & Tormentors" issue. Those who have already read Committed will understand …
Continue reading Lit Journal Hunger Mountain Publishes Excerpt of Committed
The timing was perfect: Mere days before leading a workshop on creative thinking at the Florida Creativity Weekend, my memoir Committed was named to a list of "40 Books to Unlock Your Creativity and Get You Started on Your Life's Best Work." I arrived in Sarasota, Florida, feeling I belonged. And that was important, because …
For more than four years I've blogged here about the "challenges and rewards of living an art-committed life," as the mini-bio to the right says. I launched this blog in part to keep me honest, to ensure I wouldn't once again stray from the creative path. A question I've been asking myself this winter, as …
Continue reading When Your Art-Committed Life is at Low Tide
It's somewhat odd, sharing my thoughts on a novel via social media when that novel highlights the dark fate that can befall us when we become too enamored with sharing our thoughts online. That's how I opened my Goodreads review of Dave Eggers' The Circle. That review was automatically posted to my Facebook and Twitter …
Continue reading Social Media Dystopia: A Review of Dave Eggers’ The Circle
Welcome to my final post on crafting an extended metaphor that runs the length of your creative writing. These lessons apply for fiction as well as nonfiction, but for the purposes of this series I've focused on examples from my recently published memoir, Committed: A Memoir of the Artist's Road. In Part One of this series …
Continue reading Using Extended Metaphors in Your Writing — Part Three
Extended metaphors in prose resonate with the reader, even if she isn't sure what it is the author has done to trigger that resonance. In Part One of this series I explained that making use of a recurring metaphor advances both plot and character development. We looked at how to identify a key theme that needs …
Continue reading Using Extended Metaphors in Your Writing — Part Two
I'm honored to have been interviewed by memoir author Kathleen Pooler on her excellent website/blog, Memoir Writer's Journey. I guess I got a bit carried away in my answers to her questions, because she's having to break up the interview into two parts. The first--a discussion of creative insights and inspirations, largely--is now live. The …
Continue reading An Author Interview on Creative Inspiration and the Writing Craft
The Artist's Road 