I'm in a fallow period. I have finished a draft of a novel, Book 2 of the sff trilogy I'm writing. While life has taken me off in crazy directions, it's okay. Sometimes, stories need to rest a while. You need time to forget what you wrote so you can come back with fresh eyes. One ...

In 1999, I started teaching the Novel Revision Retreat. In order to come to the retreat, you must have a completed draft of a novel. We spend the weekend talking about how to revise your novel. Many break-through or debut novels have resulted. The workbook that accompanies the retreat is Novel Metamorphosis: UnCommon Ways to ...

Guest Post by Cynthia Reeg Revisions can hurt; but revisions are good. In this guest post, Cynthia discusses the revision of her forthcoming debut novel. From the Grave is due out on October 18, 2016 from Jolly Fish Press. Cover Reveal for From the Grave Okay, I know I’m totally dating myself with this musical reference, but ...

Dear friends - This is a combination of two things: a list of popular posts in 2015 and a request for help. For the past two years you've been kind enough to nominate Fiction Notes as a Top 10 Blog for Writers. I'm asking if you'd be kind enough to do it for 2016. WritetoDone.com, who ...

NaNoWriMo is almost over, which means many of you will now 50,000+ words on a new draft. Of course, you realize it's a rough draft. So, what's next? Since 1999, I've taught Novel Revision Retreats that answer this very question. How do you take the rough draft to a finished draft? Step 1. Look at what ...