A book is about people. Ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Or, simpler, extra ordinary things. But to feel for these people and go on the journey with them we have …
Weekly Spark: Write Your Own Story
One year, as I was checking out Christmas presents at a local bookstore, I noticed a stack of paperweights near the register. “Bright” and “shiny” are always a temptation and …
Weekly Spark: Blurred Lines
I’m a writer. While this statement is sometimes up for debate in my head, I put words to paper, which words eventually become books, studies and, most recently, fiction. Therefore, …
Two Key Things I’ve Learned About Writing Novellas vs. Novels
In the beginning there was the novel … well, at least in the beginning of my fiction writing career, there was the novel, and nothing but the novel.
And then my editor asked, “What do you think about writing a novella?”
And I said, “Why not?”
My first novellawas You Made Me Love You. And I liked the process, even as I learned that writing a novel and writing a novella are two very different things.
And then I read a Facebook post where some people were discussing novel versus novella – you know, the whole choose one or the other. And I wondered why. Why does it have to be novel or the novella? Why not enjoy both? Choose a novel when you’re up for a longer read, a more detailed story. And choose a novella when you’re looking for something shorter, something simpler, but just as enjoyable as a full-length novel.
Finding Balance in Writing & Life: Between Deadlines
Once I turned in my latest manuscript, I realized something—I was between deadlines, meaning I don’t have any contracted novels to jump right into. While that’s good to allow myself …