If you’re one of those people who ask how, when, where writers get their ideas, it might be hard for you to imagine the need to get a handle on Idea Overwhelm. But when it comes to generating ideas, many Creatives struggle with too much, too many, too fast! The ability to sift, hone and focus ideas and material is crucial to every writer’s success. Here are 10 ways to begin to get a handle on your wealth of creative material: Go for your hot spot! Write your passion! Life is too short to choose tepid subjects. You will only end …

Janus, the ancient Roman god of beginnings and endings, thresholds, doorways and gates, is most often depicted as a two-faced guy because he is looking to the future and the past simultaneously. With those thresholds, gateways and passages in mind, take a moment in the present to listen to Mac Barnett’s delightful, funny and provocative TED talk. You might just get a whale of an idea!

I was recently invited to join the Algonquin Redux writers roundtable. This is a terrific site for writers and readers. I will be posting a new essay on the 9th of each month. I’m sharing the link and also encouraging you to browse the archives to find a variety of brief essays by amazing authors. Sharing my Jan 2014 post now on Algonquin Redux

Dare to dream, write, share…

“Life stand still here.”  Virginia WoolfWriters: Don’t fear the silence and the stillness because, beneath it, there is fuel to light the fire for so many stories.

Snow outside, deadlines looming, taking a tip from Moseley Kitty: Curl up until you feel snug.

It’s Sunday and I’m finishing up two scenes for today’s writing quota. Both these scenes center around two characters. Both scenes share the same viewpoint character. And I will rely on parity to make sure both scenes come to life. In very simple terms for writers of fiction, “parity” means knowing your non-viewpoint character’s desire(s) and goal(s) within the scene as well as you know those of your viewpoint character. If you feel a scene going dead, try parity. Work the scene through the non-viewpoint character’s eyes. Let the non-VP character drive the scene. Your protagonist is only as strong …

I’m on deadline for Penguin/Blue Rider Press and the book is due in less than three months. Do I feel the stress? Sure. Even after six previous novels published by the majors? Oh yeah. But there are four things I’ve learned over my years as a pro writer that instantly help to drop my stress meter by notches: 1) Take ten deep breaths. That’s inhale, and, yes, exhale, too.  Honestly, it sounds too reasonable and basic to mention, but when I’m stressing out, I am not breathing. Not smart. Oxygen helps everything. 2) Slow down to speed up. It’s not …

Today is the day BLOWBACK–a Vanessa Pierson Novel by Valerie Plame and Sarah Lovett–officially becomes available!  We are celebrating this amazing creative collaboration.

Today, for the first time, I held the hardcover of BLOWBACK (Blue Rider Press, Oct 2013), the debut novel in a series of international spy thrillers co-authored with former CIA operations officer Valerie Plame Wilson. Honestly, my first reaction was a very basic, wow, it’s shiny and beautiful! This has been a long project and Valerie and I are very proud of BLOWBACK–which has already garnered a starred review in Library Journal this month–at the same time we are already at work on the second novel in the series. So the first book/baby is taking her first steps just as I’m falling …