catching up with Writer Unboxed!

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Hi there! You might have noticed that when I don’t have a recent book release to promote, the frequency of my blog posts goes way down. I’m working on that! But until I get that new leaf turned all the way over, Instagram is the best place to find updates.

Plus, if you’re a writer, you can find me at Writer Unboxed on the first Monday of every month. While I don’t believe there are any absolute rules in writing, I do have lots of thoughts and suggestions to share from my many years pursuing the writing life, and Writer Unboxed is a great place to share them. Here are a few of my most recent posts:

Want to see everything I’ve written for WU? It’s all collected here.

Enjoy!

tips for biographical historical fiction writers at SheWrites!

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Hi there! I recently realized that a few of my recent posts, articles and lists from around the web slipped through the blogging cracks. Totally an error on my part. The great news is there’s no bad time to, for example, learn about three big mistakes to avoid if you’re writing biographical historical fiction.

So here’s a piece I put together for SheWrites on what NOT to do in that genre! Like:

Don’t let your subject have the final say. My latest subject, Aimee Crocker, was widely quoted in newspapers during her life and even wrote her own memoir, which she titled — in classic Aimee fashion — And I’d Do It Again. But her memoir says very little about some of the things that interested me most, like the very public custody battle with her first husband that resulted in both of them losing custody of their daughter, who was then adopted by Aimee’s mother (yes, really).

Read the whole thing here.

Reflections on success at Writer Unboxed!

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I’ve been guilty of forgetting to link to my Writer Unboxed posts here for a while, but I’m trying to turn over a new leaf! My February post is about writerly success and how we each need to define it for ourselves—because comparing yourself to others isn’t the way to go.

“It’s a quote often cited when talking about how to manage your career as an author, but it’s worth saying one more time here: Comparison is the thief of joy.”
— Greer Macallister, Writer Unboxed