Podcast Episodes

Use what's happened to you, to shape your writing

“A writer — and, I believe, generally all persons — must think that whatever happens to him or her is a resource,” writer Jorge Luis Borges said in a…

1 year, 10 months ago

Let Life Inspire Your Next Great Piece

“The best advice I can give you to help you grow as a writer is to experience life.”

We came to hear about queries and proposals. We wanted to learn …

1 year, 11 months ago

Metaphor Magic: Wield Your Pen Like a Wand

When I was a child just beginning to speak, my parents drove late into the evening to the rural property they bought. As they drove up the gravel dri…

2 years ago

15 Tips to Make the Most of Your Next (or First!) Writers' Conference...While at the Event

I made a last-minute decision heading to the most recent writer’s conference I attended. I’d planned to take my classy, professional, sleek gray back…

2 years, 1 month ago

Prep, Plan, and Pack to Get the Most out of Your Next (or First!) Writers’ Conference

Are you getting ready to attend a writers’ conference?

Guess what? So am I! And I want to make the most of my time there, so let’s think through what…

2 years, 2 months ago

How to Choose Your Next (or First!) Writers' Conference

Attending my first writers’ conference proved to be life-changing—or at least career-changing. In the years since, I’ve attended a wide range of writ…

2 years, 3 months ago

To Be More Creative, Write a Letter to Your Reader

Dear Writer,

It’s easy to freeze up when we’re writing for the faceless masses or the random reader who happens upon our words.

What do we say to all…

2 years, 8 months ago

Are Creative Writing Prompts a Help or Hindrance?

Let’s look at the pros and cons of using writing prompts to decide if we’re fostering creativity or frittering away time.

I remember the pleasure of …

2 years, 8 months ago

Beat the Blank Page: 7 Clever Tricks to Pack It with Words

Children gaze at a vast blank wall and see opportunity—inspired, they grab a permanent marker and scrawl across the surface in loopy circles and jagg…

2 years, 9 months ago

Who Cheered You on throughout Your Writing Journey?

When I was visiting my grandmother one summer afternoon, she pulled out a letter I sent her.

“This is good,” she said.

“Really?”

She pointed at the…

2 years, 10 months ago