The Key to Writing an Inherently Episodic Story… Effectively
Unless something really cool or scary happens, a novel about what happened on your summer vacation probably isn’t going to work. Yes, “Summer of ’42” (a film based on a memoir by American screenwriter Herman Raucher) was a modern classic. But really, did you fall in love with a married hottie like Jennifer O’Neal during […]
What Has Your Publisher Done For You Lately?
Here’s what mine did recently… a mass mailer. Thought I’d share it… ’tis the season. Thanks! “An absolute must read, DEADLY FAUX is guaranteed entertainment.” —Robert Dugoni, New York Times bestselling author of THE JURY MASTER “After half a century of being on the lookout for a crime fiction writer with a […]
The Storyfix Saturday Night Special
A story coaching offer, this weekend only (because I have some open slots): get me your $50 Kick-Start Conceptual Review submission by midnight on Sunday (Nov. 3rd), and I’ll deliver a 24-hour RUSH turnaround (normally a $25 upcharge) for no extra cost. The fine print: I’ll send the questionnaire out to you within a couple […]
Help Wanted: Hiring Fiction Writers Now
This is the opportunity of a lifetime. Write novels and screenplays for money. Publish your books and get invited to all sorts of book signings and conferences and bookclub gigs. Quit your day job and live your dream. Have cocktails with John Grisham and Nora Roberts at the National Book Awards banquet. Hiring one out […]
“Deadly Faux”… Launched… Pitched… and Promoted with a Killer Spiff for Writers Who Love a Case Study in Craft
My new novel was released today, from Turner Publishing. If you’ve experienced such a day yourself, you know the feeling. And if you haven’t… keep reading, I have something that might help make it happen for you, sooner rather than later. “Deadly Faux,” is the sequel to my 2004 novel “Bait and Switch” (the reissue […]
A Perfectly Good Writing Day in L.A.
Welcome to West Hollywood. I don’t live here, nor am I here to meet with a movie producer about one of my books. I am, however, sitting in a mall across the street from the monolithic building where that stuff happens, where the agents are, and so I bask in the glorious reflected radiance of […]
Q3 ’13 Storyfix Newsletter — Explanations, Invites, Goodbyes, a Blurb and a Reboot.
With a couple of killer story coaching deals. That’s the reboot. It’s been a while. Over a month, in fact, since I’ve posted something new here, though this space has been more than suitably filled with great guest posts from my go-to writing gurus. Where have I been? Picture me on a beach next to […]
When Words Get In Your Way
Okay, that title is my way of creating some sort of linkage between the brand/mission of this website and the content of this particular post. I get about three emails a day from SEO guys telling me I suck, so this is for them. Then again, the post itself is really for you. We’re word […]
Motivation for Writers… Wet or Dry
How hard are you working? I mean, really working. Not just working hard… but working smart? “Welcome to the grind.” Sometimes it’s tough to get up and write. Or simply to square off with the keyboard at any time of day. Athletes have coaches. We, on the other hand, are quite alone with the task […]
An Interview With ‘The Sluts’
The Sun City Sluts, that is. Three talented women who shared a dream, a few bottles of wine and a fantasy — revenge, and otherwise – that they needed to get out of their very pretty and slightly wicked heads. So they wrote a novel. Together. Planned it, nailed it, lived to tell about it. […]