Be Afraid

We all live in fear. Some of us more than others, but we all have secret dreads lurking in the corners of our mind. Fear of growing old, or letting our children come to harm, or not making the grade, or perhaps a ghostly presence we sense late at night.

Look for the fears in your stories, and bring them to life in ways so we, too, feel that fear.

Fear can play a role in any kind of story, but it’s especially prominent in those stories with a touch of horror. A really scary story—one that scares Stephen King and Neil Gaiman—is Shirley Jackson’s novel The Haunting of Hill House (now adapted into a TV series). Continue reading “Be Afraid”

Great New Things At Gotham

Seriously, folks, here’s some stuff you need to know about.

Gotham Writers Conference 
We launch the first ever Gotham Writers Conference on October 25 and 26, in NYC. This is the place to be if you’re interested in publishing a book.

Day 1 — A peek behind the publishing curtain with five eye-opening and entertaining panels and presentations. Plus, a free happy hour.

Day 2 — Pitching roundtables. Each table will have two agents and a group of pre-selected writers with book projects. You spend the day with your table—pitching, reading pages, and discussing your work. Some of these people will land agents.  Continue reading “Great New Things At Gotham”

Time To Write

Awhile back, at a writers’ conference, a young woman raised her hand during a panel and asked, “I just recently graduated from college and it’s hard for me to find time to write now. How can we be paid for our writing?”

One of the panelists made a noise that sounded like a cross between a bus door opening and a dog coughing. “No one is going to give you money to write,” they said. “I mean, get a job.”
Continue reading “Time To Write”