Falling Down at the Finish Line?

Susan DeFclassesLeave a Comment

I had the honor of presenting a class for Jane Friedman that you might think of as the expanded, class-sized version of one of my most popular posts for her, The Alchemy of Emotion. In this class, I covered the ways that emotion is generated in long-form fiction at three very important, very distinct levels: At the level of the story … Read More

Small Changes > Big Goals

Susan DeFReadingLeave a Comment

If you’re like me, you have some big goals, and you’ve had them for years. One of mine has been to read 52 books in a year. Every year, it seems, I resolve to make this happen during the first week of the new year–and every year I fall short. Pictured here, you’ll see what my husband calls my Pile … Read More

What’s your cup of tea?

Susan DeFCreative Writing, fiction, Writing resourcesLeave a Comment

If you’ve been writing for a while, you’ve probably gotten to the point where you treat your writing like work, whether or not anyone is actually paying you for it–and that in many ways is the mark of a professional. But creative writing really is NOT like other forms of work, and at this time of year–which in so many … Read More