Published inThe Caffeinated Writer·PinnedMember-onlyHow to Get InspiredIf you want to write, let stories find you where you are. — A few years ago I was living in Paris, trying to write but not getting anywhere. Ever since my family’s move from California to France for work, I had felt unsettled, distracted, and overwhelmed. …Writing7 min readWriting7 min read
6 days agoThree Books That Inspired Me to Writeand one that inspired me to try a new genre — Today, I thought I’d share a few books that have appeared at just the right moment in my life and have had a significant impact on my writing over the years. Most of these books came into my life decades ago, during a brief period in my early and mid-twenties…Writing6 min readWriting6 min read
Nov 3010 Great Books for WritersFrom the practical to the inspiring — I’ll begin with a caveat: the best book for any writer is the novel, story collection, or essay collection that inspires you to write. Every writer is a reader first. So by the time you begin reading books about writing, you should have been reading voraciously for years. …Books For Writers4 min readBooks For Writers4 min read
Published inThe Caffeinated Writer·Nov 27Cyber Monday for Writers, Part 2Save on Classes to Help You Write, Revise, and Publish In the previous post, Great Cyber Monday Deals for Writers, I shared two excellent tools I use to outline and draft my novels, as well as an indispensible publishing tool, all on sale today. In this post, I’m sharing something…Writing Classes2 min readWriting Classes2 min read
Published inThe Caffeinated Writer·Nov 27Great Cyber Monday Deals for WritersTreat yourself to software that saves time and improves your writing — Do you need special novel-writing software to compose your novels? Probably not. You could write everything longhand in a notebook, and type out in Word. That said, novel-writing software can help you streamline the process and make the best of your novel’s many moving parts. …Writing3 min readWriting3 min read
Published inThe Caffeinated Writer·Nov 24Black Friday for WritersInspiring classes to help you write and publish, up to 50% off this weekend — This is just a quick note to let you know about the Black Friday savings on my classes in writing and publishing. You have access to any class you choose for 18 months, so you can start when you’re ready and take your time. …Black Friday For Writers2 min readBlack Friday For Writers2 min read
Published inThe Caffeinated Writer·Nov 17Early Black Friday for WritersMake 2024 the Year of Your Book, Save 25% on Every Class Maybe you’ve been dreaming of writing a novel or memoir for years. Maybe you have a few chapters stuffed away in a drawer. …Novel Writing2 min readNovel Writing2 min read
Published inThe Caffeinated Writer·Nov 7Make 2024 the Year of Your BookWrite. Revise. Publish. My once-a-year Master Class Cohort is now open for enrollment. — Maybe you’ve been wanting to write a novel or memoir for years. Maybe you have stopped and started, stashed chapters in a drawer, gotten stuck, or lost motivation halfway through the manuscript. I’m excited to announce the 2024 Novel Writing Master Class Bundle, which includes my transformative flagship course, Novel…Novel Writing2 min readNovel Writing2 min read
Published inThe Caffeinated Writer·Nov 5How to Name Your Characters in FictionNaming Your Novel’s Protagonist and Other Characters — On the subject of character names, playwright Sarah Ruhl writes, “The art of naming a character is sacred and mysterious,” Ruhl writes (100 Essays I Don’t Have Time to Write). I love this book of very short essays and highly encourage you to read it for Ruhl’s thoughts on dramatization…Novel Writing3 min readNovel Writing3 min read
Published inThe Caffeinated Writer·Updated Oct 20Start Your Novel in Foundations of Novel Writing8 Weeks to Get Your First Novel off the Ground — Are you a first-time novelist? Learn how to craft a compelling premise, create interesting characters, choose the best point of view for your story, plot and structure your novel, build great scenes, and write convincing dialogue in my eight-week course designed for beginning novelists. As 2024 draws near, maybe you realize you never started that novel you put on your 2023 “to-do” list. It’s not too late! …How To Write A Novel2 min readHow To Write A Novel2 min read