I'm pleased to host novelist and writing guru PJ Reece, a global traveler who offers us some great insight on how the call of the journey connects us to the story. His latest writing craft book, Story Structure Expedition: Journey to the Heart of a Story, is now available. “One’s destination is never a …
Continue reading Road Stories: Why We Like to be Taken for a Ride
Looking for a little creativity recharge as 2014 winds to a close? Not looking to have to open that pocketbook one more time this holiday season? Please enjoy this collection of creativity and creative-craft posts I have written for others during my blog tour for Committed: A Memoir of the Artist's Road. Let's learn from creatives: Committed features …
Long before Committed: A Memoir of the Artist's Road was published, I had been sharing wisdom on the creative process I learned from artists interviewed on my 2010 cross-country road trip here on this blog. Now I've distilled five of them for a guest post on The Loft Literary Center's Writer's Block blog. Those who have read Committed …
Memoirs are supposed to be languid reflections of a notable life lived, correct? So how would you describe Cheryl Strayed's runaway bestseller Wild, coming soon as a movie to a theater near you starring Reece Witherspoon? Strayed shares in her memoir insights on a failed marriage, grief over a lost mother, and pain stemming from a …
Michelangelo believed the art of sculpting was liberating existing art from hiding. I cite that belief in a new guest post on the remarkable blog by Elizabeth Spann Craig. Titled "Allowing Your Book to be True to Itself," I share a story familiar to longtime readers of The Artist's Road, namely the years-long process by which an …
Continue reading Liberating Your Book From the Sculpting Stone
Author tours rarely proved a profitable investment for book publishers, but I have to imagine there are moments of fun for the authors. Yes, travel has its nuisances--and I suppose I speak with some authority since I've written a travel memoir--but I do find myself inclined to put up with some of the hassle to …
Enough about my journey to book publication. Let's hear from another author, novelist Sheila R. Lamb. I first encountered Sheila on Twitter in 2010. We were on the same road, creative writers looking to grow. Since connecting, we both researched, enrolled in, and graduated from low-residency MFA programs. We also both became published authors (well, …
It is the height of hubris to edit an award-winning creative nonfiction author who also happens to be your mentor. But I decided the brilliant proposed title of Sue William Silverman's guest post--"E Pluribus Unum: Out of Many (essays) One (book)"--wouldn't translate well in a tweet. So I've imposed a more utilitarian title on this …
Continue reading How One Author Combined Personal Essays Into a Coherent Memoir
Fans of my MFA Nugget series--posts sharing the wisdom and personal experiences of my on-site Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA residencies--likely assumed there would be no more such posts after I graduated last summer. Well, I'm delighted to revive that series--for one post at least--with a guest blog by J.M. Cooper. J.M. currently is …
Perhaps a 2014 resolution for me should be to gain readers in Africa and South America. I say that because among the dozens of responses to my survey requesting feedback on what to write about in 2014 were readers from the other four occupied continents. I also suppose the time of day I make posts …
Continue reading What To Expect from the Artist’s Road in 2014
The Artist's Road 