Sometimes a story emerges from deep inside your bones—from your deepest childhood memories, from the architecture that shaped your imagination. “In Floating Fields” is such a story, and I’m pleased to share that it’s now available in the online edition of StoryQuarterly. (It will be featured in the print edition later this year.) It’s a story set in part in my … Read More
Where are you in your novel writing journey?
It’s been nearly a decade in the making, so friends, please join me in celebrating one of those little victories in the writer’s journey: as of last week, I finished the final edits on my short story collection and sent it out the door. “Final edits” as in, final until probably the next time I let myself take a peek at … Read More
The books I read in 2023, and how much they meant to me
Everything is coming late for me this year, for various reasons. But I wanted to share with you the books I read in 2023, and how much they meant to me. I’ve had a goal of reading 52 books a year for a while now, and in 2023, I came closer to that goal than I ever have before: 46. … Read More
The most critical question for any writer to ask
Recently I returned from teaching at the Writer UnBoxed conference in Salem, Mass.–and while I was there, I did something I’ve never done before with adults. I built a story with my audience, live. I did this because I figured after four full days of craft talks, the conference attendees needed another PowerPoint presentation like they needed a hole in … Read More
