I mean, why does it feel like homework lately? Sometimes I feel like a fraud telling people I’m a writer, even though I have two books, a third on the way, and a legit job teaching people how to write. Because the truth is, since the pandemic, whole weeks go…

But you actually do — I always have lofty ideas for my summer self. For a substantial amount of writers, certainly, those that reside in academia or that teach high school, each summer stands before us a beacon of light, a designated carved out time for writing (between vacations and gardening, of course), for getting…

No, it’s not ‘show, don’t tell’ — This story is behind Medium’s membership paywall, which means the writer earns through our Partner Program. To become a Medium member, click here. I’ve been studying writing for 20 years now. I’m at the point where I’ve now taught more workshops than I’ve been a student in, and yet I…

How writing a second novel feels different than a first… — A friend told me they like the first novels of writers the best because they are always a bit messier, a bit more raw, more meandering in interesting ways. That is certainly true of my own writing. My first novel I did not undertake so much as I resisted admitting…

When people have asked me what it has been like to release a book in the pandemic, lots of adjectives come to mind: Exciting, disappointing, nostalgic (for live readings), and yet thrilled over new types of virtual events — and the ability for my best friend who lives across the…

Or: Is it possible to be a real writer when you have small children? — I remember when I was a very young aspiring, dreamy-eyed writer and I read Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet, a beautiful little book given to me by a friend. Rilke says many things in these letters but what stuck with me was how much he talked about solitude. …

Six Professional “Don’ts” of Taking on a Novel for the First Time — Last week I told you all the personal adventures of writing my novel- but here is another take: what I learned about the actually writing and what I wished I had known from the get go. 1. Don’t try to write a novel that makes a point of being unclear…

(The memoir version) — 1. Take a personal leave from your MFA program. …

In some ways, what I learned from writing my first novel goes way beyond writing. It took ten years to finish and get published, and in that time, I got married, had two children, lost a dog/gained a dog, and moved six times. I feel like the lessons learned along…