I like quotes. Snippets of life, perfectly succinct. Maybe that’s part of the reason I love journalism, for the vital role quotes play in my stories. But I’m torn over whether to use quotes in my memoir. Not in the actual narrative — Of course dialogue is essential to my book. I mean the kind […]
I’ve never been the kind of journalist that can bang out a lead. Sometimes it’s easy to crank out the first paragraph, but more often than not I write the rest of the story and return to the lead afterward, crafting it right on deadline. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that I feel challenged […]
If you read this blog regularly, you know I don’t often simply link to an article or blog post. I believe in creating new content. (Or, in the case of Writers’ Roundup, giving you many links to choose from.) But this Los Angeles Times piece by Dani Shapiro about the making of a memoir was […]
Did I say the first two-thirds of my manuscript would be ready for critique by Aug. 1? Who was I kidding?! I’m getting bogged down mostly by the beginning (more about that next week if it’s still a problem). But the rest is coming together nicely, and so I say, that’s still progress! Links I […]
I had an epiphany recently while reading Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird, a book on writing that several author friends recommended. Putting my book together in pieces, imagining my end product but watching it morph into something different, all-in-all feeling like I don’t know exactly what I’m doing… These feelings are all normal! Well, according […]
Everyone agrees a writer’s voice — or lack thereof — can make or break a manuscript. But what is literary voice? And how do you improve something that’s so hard to define? Voice is one of those things you recognize when you see it. It’s what a reader refers to when she says, “I really […]
Last Monday, I kicked your butt into gear. This week, a gentler form of inspiration, an excerpt from my book. Wanna learn about my travel memoir first? Check out this post. * * * Packages from home take on new meaning in Africa. Peanut butter? Like gold. A favorite deodorant? More valuable than cash. And […]
Happy Friday! A few insightful links from this week: Writer Jody Hedlund explains the challenges of convincing others that writing is a valid career choice. Their reactions, she says, can result in writer’s guilt. What do you call yourself? Do you deserve the title of writer, author, or something entirely different? More than anything else, […]
Part of my goal on this blog is to foster conversation between writers, create a community of mutual support. Your thoughts, ideas and advice matter to me — and today we’re getting all three from Ami Spencer, a freelance writer who blogs at Write Out Loud. Ami, I turn it over to you. When Alexis […]
An author wrote to me last week with this advice: “There’s no substitute for finding your voice and writing brilliantly.” While he seemed to think my travel memoir had potential, he told me, very frankly, that I was spending too much energy figuring out the publishing industry when I should be focusing on writing a […]