NonFiction

Some people judge books by their covers. I like to judge a book by its first three paragraphs. The opening sentences of a story tell you a lot about the experience you’re likely to have with the book—and since many readers turn to books to find specific experiences, skillful writers often use their first paragraphs to let their readers know exactly what kind of experience to expect…

I email other writers a lot—and, believe it or not, most of them write back. I could drop some of the names that are now saved in my contacts list, many of which you may have heard of, but that would be both inappropriate and indiscreet…

Rip ‘em apart and steal what you learn! If you want to become a better writer, you have to know how stories work—and if you want to write like your favorite authors, you have to know how their stories work…

There are two kinds of distractions that can get in the way of your writing: external distractions and internal distractions…

I use what I learned, during those early days—not the tricks, necessarily, but the tips—to maintain a relatively consistent 1,000-word-per-hour output. Day in, day out. Here’s how I do it—and how you can, too…