Welcome To My Blog
Weekly tips, stories and inspiration for your writing journey.
Heart Speak, The Writing Advice Column #5: Writing in the Face of Fragile Family Relationships
How do I write a memoir without hurting the people I love.
Seven Steps for Managing Feedback on Your Work in Progress
Receiving feedback can feel exhilarating. But as we prepare for revision, most writers wrestle with the same question: where do I begin?
The Two Conversations Every Beta Reader Must Have Before Saying Yes to a Manuscript
When deciding to become a beta reader there are two conversations you must have before taking on a manuscript. The first conversation is with yourself.
Heart Speak, The Writing Advice Column # 4: Escaping the Forest of Endless Revision
I’m currently in the forest of revision times infinity. Can you help me find a way out?
Beta Reader Boot Camp Part One: What Are Beta Readers and How Do You Find Them?
There are many ways to gain insight into your works-in-progress. Today, I want to talk about the angels of the writing world: beta readers.
Heart Speak, The Writing Advice Column # 3: Mining the Gap Between Traumatic Memories and Your Memoir
If my memories are truly inaccessible, can you help me find ways to write around them?
Failing Forward: Why Every Draft Counts
Writing is a process made up of failures. Projects that stall. Unsuccessful drafts. Rejections. Our job is to learn something from each one.
When You’re Visited by an Unwelcome Guest: Writers, Downtime, and Depression
There are many reasons why creative people might be more susceptible to depression. The sensitivity that feeds our creativity can be both a gift and a burden.
Schmoozing for Introverts: How to Network Like a Pro
A writing conference may be your first professional networking opportunity. Studying a gracious college gave me several tricks I could use to schmooze like a pro, or at least operate like a less awkward version of myself.
Creating A Birds-Eye View of Your Book
For those of us trying to tame book-length projects, it can be difficult to manage the pages in our heads. Chapter summaries can become your book’s BFF.
Heart Speak Column #2: When a Medically Impaired Mind Derails Your Memoir
Co-authoring a book under optimal circumstances can be a trying experience, but add intermittent cognitive impairment or cognitive decline to the mix, and the challenges are monumental. Learn how to outmaneuver the challenges dementia can add to the writing process.
Twenty-two years after my brother’s suicide I’ve found peace
Twenty-two years ago today, my brother Joe died by suicide during a mental health crisis. He was twenty years old. I was twenty-two, the same age as his death.
