For Writers

I feel lucky to have some pretty cool writing friends, and Alda P. Dobbs is chief among them. Learn about the awesome way we met, what inspired her to write her break-out hit Barefoot Dreams of [...]

Protecting your writing time means making small, incremental choices that add up to big results in going for your writing goals. I am what could be described as a “binge” writer. When [...]

Getting past your doubts as a writer means going for big goals even if you’re not sure that’s a reasonable thing to do. Here’s how. I have done a lot of work throughout my life [...]

Welcome to Come On In Anthology: Misa Sugiura Interview. I was honored to be invited to participate in the anthology Come On In: 15 Stories about Immigration and Finding Home. As the subtitle [...]

This past week I got some disappointing feedback on my latest manuscript from an industry professional. (The feedback was, basically: do better). I ran through the usual gamut of emotions… [...]

I am a world-class avoider of things. Seriously, I could teach a class. Like… a graduate-level class. I am singularly talented at not doing what I tell myself I want to be doing. Be it [...]

What are revenge queries? I am in the process of querying for my second agent. It feels a little like walking across the gym to ask someone to dance, plus a job interview, plus being covered in [...]

Last night, at around 11:00 pm, I finished writing a first draft of a novel. It is the third I’ve finished since the one I published. The tale of why none of the three have made it out in [...]

Do you remember how much fun it was to get a pretty sticker on a paper when you were in the second grade? Well, yeah, stickers still feel good as grown-ups, too, which is why we like a [...]

The choice of first, second or third person is key when framing a new project. How do you decide? Here are my thoughts. All my written novels, including my published one, are in first person [...]

If you’ve ever done a job you really, really love, at a certain point you begin to ask yourself how it works, why it’s important, and how those who have come before you have done it. [...]

Somewhere in my life, I went from feeling too young to do things to too old. The truth is that making the “age” argument is a cop out on both ends of the life spectrum. You can always [...]

I have been meditating since I was eighteen years old, and I’d venture to say I’ve only scratched the surface of its benefits. My mind is too active, needing engagement at all times [...]

Writing inspiration. Too often, it’s hard to come by. The well runs dry, the work doesn’t come out the way we want it to and, if we’re at the stage where we’re trying to [...]

We writers are a pretty nerdy bunch.  (We wear it as a badge of honor).  So if you’re not a writer, you may want to look away now. If you’re still here, let me tell you that this [...]

You might say I was fated to be a writer – either that, or a con-artist or a spy or some other kind of criminal – because I was endowed at birth with a double identity. – [...]

I am a big fan of animated movies.  I think some of the best storytelling of the last 20 years has been done in animation.  I was reminded of this fact twice this past week, one when I saw Inside [...]

So you’ve published a book!  Congratulations!  Now here’s something you may not have realized when you sat at your desk polishing your baby: when you’re an author, you really [...]

I have my issues with Game of Thrones (rape scenes, anyone?) but there’s no denying that it’s a cultural juggernaut.  I’m always fascinated by how books that are now huge hits [...]

I’ve often said that writing is about remembering. Even when you’re making something up (which is what writing fiction essentially is), you still have to access memories of your own [...]

What does it mean to be a prolific writer? A short while back, a writing buddy shocked me by saying she admired my writing output.  Surely she must have just been blowing smoke.  One of my deep, [...]

Writing a book takes a lot of different skills: the ability to plan and stick to the plan (and know when to chuck the plan when it’s not working).  The ability to silence the little critic [...]

My first completed manuscript was a memoir I have since (temporarily, I hope) shelved.  It didn’t sell for a variety of reasons, chief among them that it was pretty poorly written. If the [...]

I met an enterprising young woman at a recent conference who asked me for advice about the publishing industry and “making it” as a writer, specifically of YA (young adult, or books [...]

Before I got an agent, I heard one of the many legends about J.K. Rowling: she outlined Harry Potter for five years before she ever wrote a word.  It was one of those dark moments for me, one of [...]

I went to my mom’s house yesterday and found her cleaning out her garage.  Although I’ve had my house almost 15 years now, somehow she still had a few of my old boxes of stuff from [...]

My first novel came out in March.  With excellent trade reviews and a timely “hook” (immigration) it was easier for me to book appearances than it is for the average new author.  So [...]

So you want to build your author site.  Congratulations!  It’s a great treat to put your writing out in the world and have others respond.  But if you’re like a lot of writers, the thought of [...]

I am a Real Writer.  All caps like that.  Not too long ago, I realized I’d been one since I wrote in my diary, at twelve years old, “Most of all, I want to be a writer.”  My [...]