November 3, 2017
Dear Sherry, A number of years ago, I entered a short story contest and won. Yay me! One of the prizes was tuition in a writing course. Something the teacher said has stuck with me all these years. She said that I shouldn’t take the time to picture the story in my mind first. She said that ruins the story.…
October 6, 2017
Dear Sherry, I wanted to ask your advice. I submitted a short story and poem to a contest, and they want to publish both! What troubles me is the poem. I wrote it many years ago, as it’s very “emo” as was described to me by a friend. I’m wondering if publishing this old fossil poem of depression is going…
September 1, 2017
Dear Sherry, I’ve recently come to a crossroad in my life. I have had to re-evaluate a bunch of things, one of which is that I want to give writing another try. I used to write, a lot. I did some workshops, and even had a few short story sales. Then I stopped, mostly because of work and family. If…
August 4, 2017
Dear Sherry, I hear people talk about writing exercises all the time. They say it’s a good way to warm up the brain and help focus on the writing tasks, especially for those of us who tend to get distracted by the internet. What do you think? Worth it or not? I’m afraid it might be a source of distraction…
July 7, 2017
Dear Sherry, I’m a relatively experienced writer, and I’m on the downward slope of my planned book series. But there’s always room for new problems with such an expansive project. Now, I feel like I’ve run out of the “easy” ideas. I still love my characters, and I still love my world, but I know that I need to keep…
June 2, 2017
Dear Sherry, This is a practical question. So many of us are writing around a day job, stopping and starting our projects, and it’s maddening for me, at least. Every time I get back to a project, I’ve forgotten things that were important and either have to waste a day of could-be-writing trying to get the details back into my…
May 5, 2017
Dear Sherry: I have a problem. I like writing. I like brainstorming. I like coming up with ideas for my characters and seeing where it takes them. When I write out my first draft, I know all the messy mistakes and wrong turns are going to be there. The first draft is where I let myself air the story out,…
April 7, 2017
Dear Sherry, I’ve got nothing. Drawing a complete blank. I’ve always been a one idea at a time type of writer, but it has been three months since I’ve come up with an idea for my next book. Most of my writer friends have two and three, sometimes even more, writing projects on the go. Me? Nothing. I know there…
March 3, 2017
Dear Sherry, I’ve been working on this novel for almost two years now. I’ve finished the first draft. I’ve filled in the plot holes. I’ve added description, and fleshed out the characters. I’ve sent it to my critique group for feedback, edited based on that feedback, sent it back to them and edited it again. That should be enough, right?…
February 3, 2017
Dear Sherry, I am really close to finishing my Master’s degree in Canadian Studies. By close, I mean I am in the final edits of my thesis. It has taken me over two years to research it and write it. I can’t tell you how many times I wished it would just write itself already so I could submit it to…