Novel Openings: What Works
Case Study 1: Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng Ask any agent, any writer who has ever queried a novel, any editor, and, I daresay, any reader, and they’re bound to agree: a strong opening is one of the most important aspects of your novel. Readers who browse bookstores (or download samples of…
On the “gift” of feedback
Writers constantly receive feedback on our work. Solicited feedback from writing groups, beta readers, agents, and editors; unsolicited feedback from commenters, reviewers, or social media followers. I’ve been told (especially in my business life) that feedback is a “gift.” I used to think: there are few gifts I’m less eager to receive than this one.…
My favorite books of 2021
It’s been quite a year, book-lovers. We thought we’d left COVID-19 behind us in 2020 (remember that?), what with vaccines becoming available and case numbers decreasing. Instead, vaccine idiocy hesitancy + aggressive variants + inability/unwillingness to deliver vaccines to much of the rest of the world means that COVID is still on our hands for…
My Favorite Writing Podcasts
The best writing podcasts for emerging writers and aspiring authors, according to a new novelist who loves podcasts
The 100,000 Word Project
or: how I found time to write a novel, and you can too I’m one of those lifelong aspiring novelists. Ever since I read “Anne of Green Gables” as a 4th grader (and then the other seven books in the series, and then reread them, and then watched the film adaptations… you get the picture),…
My favorite books of 2020
I am an insatiable reader. I read every night before going to bed; while walking the dog (audiobooks, of course); on airplanes (remember those?); on a stationary bike. I read with my kids every night, too, alternating with my husband between my 5 and 8 year old sons one night, and my 10 year old…
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Jill Witty 