But Would I Try for James Patterson Amounts of Money? — When I first decided to try my hand at writing a thriller, and cast around for the best examples to read, James Patterson was high on the list. His sales are astounding. His books seemed to be on the shelves of every store. I noticed that almost all the titles…

Similar circumstances of storytelling but a vast difference in delivery — When I attended college, my first roommate was a blind draw. We met for the first time on move-in day. We had similar circumstances: same college, same dorm, same room, same age. We had similar hopes, both wanting to do well and become successful in life. There were also vast…

It’s up to you to deliver the story that satisfies, compels and entertains — I wrote a novelette (10,000 words) last year and dragged my feet on submitting it. There aren’t a lot of places that take stories that long, and it was a new genre for me: fantasy. I was writing a funny business story based on a fantasy premise, that being a…

How I struggled to write a creative nonfiction essay until I saw an example, reminding me of the one lesson I learned at Harvard Diner, where I used to bus tables. — The Week in Creativity: Feb 18, 2023 Back in the mid-90s, there was a Harvard professor who started an app development business using young, untrained programmers given a crash course in Visual Basic to do the work on contract. He purposely avoided hiring computer science majors for his company because he was selling an innovative approach.

How a course in finding ways to tell personal stories may help unstump my creative writing. — The Week in Creativity: 2023–02–11 This past week has been a like period of recovery from an illness, or maybe like reorientation after a trip. Finishing the draft of the novel, I avoided writing creative fiction. …

Ignorance can get you killed or ruin your creative writing project. — The Week in Creativity: February 5, 2023 My girlfriend and I once decided to visit Yosemite National Park on a whim, a three hour drive from where we were at the time, Napa Valley, California. She was there for work, I was just visiting. We had no camping reservation, no hotel room lined up, nothing. We hopped…

How publishing regularly and checking in with other writers helps you stay with your creative projects. — The Week in Creativity: Jan 29, 2023 I started the week struggling with a humor piece for a newsletter I’m launching. Humor is the sort of thing that takes more work than I ever expect. I published it, then realized its many flaws and changed each one in a fresh panic. The saving grace was that no…