I don't know about you, but I don't like to advertise my mess. I tend my wounds in private and try not to whine too much. My garage is a little bit insane, my junk drawer is...eclectic, and I keep both firmly closed against prying eyes the majority of the time.… Read the post

by Jenny Hansen

My husband and I had an interesting discussion about the nature vs nurture theory of writing. Our question: were accomplished writers born intact like Beethoven, with words rather than music, or were writers nurtured along by adversity and pain?… Read the post

Over the last few years, I've shared "Top 10" lists from several authors on the topics of writing and success.

This list wouldn't be complete without Kurt Vonnegut, one of our great American writers. He has inspired writers around the globe like Norman Mailer, John Irving, Michael Crichton, Margaret Atwood, David Sedaris, and J.… Read the post

I don't know about you, but I often have trouble asking for help.

It's not that I don't want help and it's not that I don't need help. It's that I don't want to be a bother. Or that I don't have time to explain what I want.… Read the post

Fabulous first lines tend to stick with all of us. We ponder them, agonize over them, rewrite them, and rewrite them again. And more than once, we've actually purchased a book based on a breathtaking first line or paragraph.

Plus, a good first line is quotable.… Read the post