As an author, I’ve encountered reviews and opinions about how a story doesn’t resonate with readers because it didn’t seem “real enough.” My first push-back response to that criticism is usually a strong defense of the genre. “It’s fiction and by definition, ‘not real.’ ” But, when you look deeper at what the reader’s trying to say, you realize that this critique is neither trite nor glib. Here’s what I mean:
Read moreTag: writer confessions
Here’s What I’d Be Doing If I Weren’t A Writer
If I couldn’t write fiction, would I babble to myself in the streets about these crazy Baxters who won’t leave me alone? Probably? Who said I wasn’t doing that already…🤪 For years, I technically wasn’t a fiction writer. I ignored that path for a while, but the characters came to me anyway. So, when I get a question like this, I know exactly what I’d do. But, and here’s the trick, I’d still be writing. […]
Read moreWhat An Unguarded Expression of Angst Taught Me About Kindness
I’ve often shared that my mother presented me with my first blank diary at 11. I don’t know what she knew or saw but I count it as one of the best gifts I’ve ever gotten. So, it must have been a heart-stopping moment that left her bereft when she happened on a piece of paper that said I hated her.
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