Where do you learn to write?

Way back in the dark ages, when I started writing, I learned from books. I bought books on point of view, setting, story structure—everything I could get my hands on. I have two large shelves full of books on writing craft. I also went to conferences—you remember we...

An Author’s Learning Is Never Done

There’s a concept that once you’ve done something for 10,000 hours you are proficient at it. After being a professional author for over fifteen years, I’m pretty sure I’ve reached that many hours but am I proficient? Do I know how to write? Well, yes, and no. I still...

Competency

With the peaceful transfer of power in the U.S. government, I can’t help but feel as if we’ve all turned a new page. Every four years Americans have an election where we give ourselves the opportunity to try again, to start anew, to move in a different direction. Some...

Learning Craft

How many books on writing do you have on your shelf—virtual or otherwise? I just did a quick run-through of the books on my physical shelf and those in my Kindle and, not counting books on marketing, I’ve got nearly thirty. Have I read them all? Not cover-to-cover,...

Online Classes

I love teaching. I’ve actually got a master’s degree in education that I got thinking that that’s what I was going to do with my life. I used to teach at my local community college in their continuing education department, which was fantastic – enthusiastic, committed...