In third grade, in the middle of music class, Ms. Traylor asked me to sing, then play the recorder. Amid the din of classmates warming up...

Settling down in the writing sanctuary where words and ideas flow like... hold on, the cat found—and ate—a moth. Now, the cat is...

I've been slogging through a second draft of Insecticide Two and feeling unenthusiastic. I added a second character's point of view to...

Diana watched the body floating in the ocean. Lifeless current lifted the limp body up one wave, then buried it under the next. Diana...

Brandon could see clearly when he was four years old, with glasses. He remembered his fourth birthday. So, if was he was still a child,...

I quit my job in 2016. After fifteen years, I’d had enough corporate life. But, I also felt if I stayed on the job longer, I’d regret it,...

Unfortunately it includes marketing. Our latest feeble attempts follow, as does how we became a writer. https://www.veriteventures.com/po...

I started the second draft of Insecticide Two. It feels like a process of zooming in. I started with the wide view. That required...

I'm starting the second draft of Insecticide 2 and thinking about what it needs to include. One important element of a second draft is...

Ninety six hours into Insecticide 2 I finished the first draft. It took me 42 hours to outline, 54 hours to write...

Characters drive a novel. Character development may be the most important aspect of crafting a novel. For me, it's generally the most...

I’m halfway through the first draft of Insecticide Two and entering a distinct, third emotional stage. First, was excitement. I had...

When self-publishing—if you market your own work—you are basically starting a marketing business. Today, marketing seems focused on...

Many writers give themselves daily or weekly wordcount or page goals. For me, it’s about time. I want to hit minimum time targets....

I’m up every morning at the same time. I feed the animals (two cats and a dog), take a shower, then I’m at my desk. Over the course of a...

I’ve started writing Insecticide Two. I put sixty hours into the outline, felt good about the path forward, and excited to write a...

Writer’s block can feel like a vise, slowly squeezing every word and creative thought out of you, until all that’s left in the world are...

I completed an outline version this week. I read the outline aloud after finishing to see how it sounded, and how quickly and simply it...

My outline for Insecticide 2 is growing—up to ten pages—but so is my To Do list. Bullet items seem to be spawning bullet items at this...

When I was in grad school, every semester at least one professor would read the syllabus aloud during the first class—grad school...