How Should Writers Deal With Rejection?
originally published in Writer’s Bone No one likes getting rejected. It hurts, it’s annoying, and it can really wreck a decent day. Writers get rejected a lot so if writing is your dream, realize that it’s inevitable. Here are some things to keep in mind to help you deal with rejection. A colleague of mine […]
Reviews – A Game Of Give And Take
Originally published in Women Writers, Women’s Books, March 28, 2015 We all know how much the world of publishing has changed in the last few years. The gatekeepers have been swept away by self-publishing. Anyone can write a book, and offer it for sale on Amazon. And anyone can write a review and […]
In Defense of Head-Hopping
This article originally appeared on February 7, 2015 in Women Writers, Women’s Books. In writing, head hopping is defined as using an omniscient third-person narrator to hop from the head of one character right into another. This is thought to cause confusion for the reader and leave them wondering whose thoughts they’re […]
William Faulkner, Race Relations Then And Now
All writers have first loves, those authors who inspired us to pick up a pen and try our unpracticed hand at the art of poetry and prose. One of mine is William Faulkner, whose stunning The Sound and The Fury, made me want to write a novel that treated […]
Anne’s Maxims On The Writing Life
Here are some of the things I tell myself when I get the blues about my writing: You started this story because it was important for you to tell it. And you’re the only one who can tell it, so you better keep going. Think of your characters. If you give up now, […]
What Writing Means To You
Yesterday I posted a request on Twitter. I asked followers to tell me, in fewer than fifty words, what writing meant to them. I was to choose the “best,” and post it here, on my blog. This morning, I found four responses, all lovely, all heartfelt, and found I couldn’t really choose. This means I […]
New Year’s Edition of “I Give You My Word” Newsletter
This year is just about gone, and next year holds the usual mystery – what will happen? And when? 2014 is the year that I owned my crankiness about the publishing world. Despite the fact that I’ve been writing for almost thirty years, and publishing regularly for the last fifteen, I never really thought […]
Sooner Or Later
When you start a career as a writer, you believe that there is an order to things. A ladder you will climb, passing rungs others have passed, slowly, with patience, until you reach the top. I’m happy to admit that my view of this ladder has changed. In fact, I no longer believe in a […]
What It Takes
Virginia Wolff is famous for having said that to be a woman and a writer, one needed a room of one’s own and five hundred pounds a year. In essence, she was advocating for space and time. Of course she was correct. Of course these are two essential components of a successful writing life. […]
Getting In
This article originally appear in Women Writers, Women’s Books on September 23, 2014 As Heidi Klum says on Project Runway, either you’re in, or your out. The world of publishing works this way, too. There are barriers and hurdles to get over, doors to walk through, people who welcome you, and those […]