Dealing with criticism

Posted inWriting
One of my favorite bloggers on writing and the publishing industry, literary agent Nathan Bransford, recently made an excellent post about dealing with criticism. Excellent reading for any and all aspiring writers. Confronting a critique or criticism need not be a gut-wrenching trial. It can, and should, be a valuable learning experience. One of the first and most difficult hurdles on the road to publication is learning to cope with criticism. Yet you must. No matter how good you think you are, criticism is inevitable. It is also vital to your growth as a writer. The ability to solicit critiques…

Churning out that first draft

Posted inWriting
Shortly after posting yesterday about National Novel Writing Month, I came across an excellent blog post by literary agent Rachelle Gardner. This is great advice that I wanted to share with those taking part in NaNoWriMo -- or anyone working on a big writing project, really. Now is NOT the time to self-edit or worry about all those writing tips you've been taught. Just write. Let the words flow. If you've been studying the craft, you'll naturally be inclined to show more than tell, write snappy dialogue, and be aware of how much backstory you're allowing in. That's great. But…

How I got published, part 3 – The Query

Posted inWriting
Yesterday I talked about the process by which Jim and I began writing A Year of Hitchcock: 52 Weeks with the Master of Suspense. Week in and week out we were either in front of the TV watching Hitchcock's work or, more often than not, in front of our keyboards writing, revising, and writing some more. It was midway through the year when we knew we had something publishable on our hands. By this time we has also developed an inertia that wasn't going to break down, so we pulled the series offline and continued working on the same schedule…