Mary Lamphere
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Word count for novels comes up frequently at my meetings and conferences. Yes, there are guidelines. There are averages and expectations. Agents, editors, and publishers might actually give you a number goal, but I hold to the idea that the story takes as many words as it takes, and not a word more. Or less. A
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After a decade of serious writing, classes, conferences, workshops, critiques, and six novel publications, I don’t consider myself a “new” writer anymore. But, that takes effort. I mean, I have done this stuff before, am still doing it, yet every time I start a new project, it’s like it’s my first project. Whether you are
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As you may recall, my parting pet peeve last week referenced not being notified that my submissions had been received. It’s hard enough to commit to entering a contest or submitting to a journal without wondering if your entry has been lost in the depths of unknown daemon haze, you know? Nipping at the heels
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Writers write. We rewrite. And edit. And rewrite again. It’s hard to know when a piece is done. Walk away, come back later with fresh eyes. Then rewrite, edit, rewrite again. Sharing with readers, submitting to journals, entering contests, uploading files for publication… Pressing that “enter” key can be quite intimidating. Are you sure? Surely
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The most obvious answer is that when I write in public, I don’t get nervous, my mouth doesn’t go dry, and I don’t trip over my words. Seriously–I’ve been writing publicly for years! And not once have I ever been embarrassed at a B&N, self-conscious at a coffee shop, or tongue-tied at a library. But
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I was on a writing retreat for four days with three other writers. After a while, I began to notice some communal traits. Following the model of redneck comedian Jeff Foxworthy, I thought I’d share my observations. You might be a writer if… You might be a writer if…multi-tasking includes eating, drinking, typing, talking, bopping
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Joanna Penn of The Creative Penn, was the closing speaker for the Indie Author Conference back in November. Funny, personable, and ridiculously adept at making a living with her writing, Joanna writes both fiction and non-fiction. She gave us a bit of background, told us how she wanted to read, write, and eat biscuits for a living. But,
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It’s easier than I would have thought to say goodbye to In Print. As a founding member, I guess I let the organization go when I stepped down from ALL responsibilities. I held many titles, wore many hats, and accomplished many amazing things through the Professional Writers Organization I helped begin with fellow writers Kristin
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The Prompt Club was one of the many things I started through In Print Professional Writers Organization. Based on my earlier experiences with DAWGs (DeKalb Area Writer’s Group), The Prompt Club met once a month and wrote a one thousand word story to a shared prompt. We would select from a list of suggestions provided
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I keep seeing a lot of posts on social media about your “word for the year“. Great words, like STRENGTH, CONFIDENT, RESPONSIBILITY, and CONTROL. Kelly Epperson Simmons wrote a recent blog titled New Year’s Resolutions vs Word of the Year. She says resolutions can be vague and overwhelming. “Choosing a word is easier on our heads
MARY LAMPHERE AUTHOR 