I’ve never been less inclined to share my credentials, given the subject of this article, but I do believe it to be necessary at the outset, so here we go.  I am an actor who’s been pressing at the walls of the entertainment industry, trying to find a door, a window, a crack–anything–for almost twenty years. I am a writer who started writing her first novel in 2009 and finished...

Whenever someone asks what I “do” for a living, it always takes me a second to reply. Do I roll with the simple “I’m a stay-at-home-mom” line? I mean it’s true, I do watch my daughter full time while my husband works and I wouldn’t trade that privilege for the world (tantrums, messes, and all). But being a SAHM isn’t the full story. The truth is, I’m also a writer,...

I’m getting tired of reading posts from so-called “aging” writers who are racing furiously against the tick-tocks of their inner clocks. I’ve had it with their self-imposed timelines based solely on the calendar, the number of birthday candles on their cakes. My favorite is the 29-year-old debut author who celebrates publishing her first novel before her 30th birthday—just in time! As an author approaching 70, I celebrate writers, agents, publishers,...

As a “serious” writer for only a few years, there’s much I still need to learn. I’m hoping to be traditionally published, which comes with its own suite of exciting and nerve-wracking challenges. Though I’ve only queried two books, I’ve learned several (painful) lessons about querying too early. Every writer’s path differs, but I’d like to share what I’ve learned in hopes it will help someone else. Below, I’m sharing...

A few years ago I joined a bunch of writing groups on Facebook. I wanted to see what writers were talking about—I wanted to understand what questions they were asking in hopes that I’d learn how to better help my clients and students. I jumped in here or there to offer support or weigh in when someone was asking for feedback. But it didn’t take long for me to start...

You’ve probably read all the tips on how to construct a mesmerizing mystery, replete with intriguing characters, interesting storylines, and enough red herrings to tickle your sleuthing abilities in a complex whodunit.  But we would like to share with you all the ways you can ruin a potentially riveting mystery, causing us to put down your book and ban you from our reading list forever. Create unlikeable protagonists (self-centered, immoral,...

Hello. My name is RJ and I’m in the closet. The writer’s closet.  Disclaimer: This is my first official writing credit. Woohoo! For perhaps the first time, I found a way to make my insecurities work for me by turning them into a pitch. And wouldn’t it be amazing if they worked for someone else too? If this article helps even one person come out of the writer’s closet I...

When I set out to start querying for the first time, I had no idea what I was doing. I knew the basic idea — you find an agent, send a query letter, and hope for the best — but I hadn’t the faintest clue how to begin or what that process really looked like. After doing a bunch of research and slogging through the query trenches for the past...