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 16, 2017
The more we learn about the craft of writing, the more paranoid we become, worried that we are not going to get the wording just right. When we worry, we’re not enjoying the writing. Everyone’s writing process differs. If you’re like me, you like to get everything down first and edit later. Some people edit as they go. Some people…
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 19, 2017
I’m sure we’ve all heard the saying that writers love having written, not actually writing. We all know people who say they are writers, talk up a good game but haven’t written anything yet, or in a long time. Many people want the life of a writer, but not to sit down and write. Who wants to sit alone at…
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 21, 2017
In the last couple of months, it feels like I have done everything possible to sabotage my writing time. I decided to move. That meant getting my place ready for showings, getting it up on the market, selling it (yay!), and then finding a new place and packing. Every one of these steps takes time: hours and sometimes days. Add…
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 17, 2017
Welcome to Coach’s Corner, where I offer some thoughts on the creative process and breaking through moments of self-doubt. In Part 1 of this series on when life sucks you back in, I talked about freeing ourselves when family and friends pull us away from our writing. There is a greater force that life uses to pull us away from our…
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 17, 2017
Welcome to Coach’s Corner, where I offer some thoughts on the creative process and breaking through moments of self-doubt. Never has there been a quote more apt for writers than the one by Michael Corleone in The Godfather: Part III: “Just when I thought I was out… they pull me back in.” No, I’m not talking about the mafia here.…