You Are A Writer. You Know You Are.

Being a writer has nothing to do with being published. Or wearing glasses.Or having a nice author photo that looks younger than you are. No.

You know you’re really a writer when . . .

1. Your clothes are not easily distinguished from your pajamas.

2. Your friends ask for help writing their wedding vows, their resumes, and their Netflix complaint letters.

3. On vacation, you walk into a hotel with a beautiful view and think, “ooh I can’t wait to write here!”

4. Your laptop is worth more than all your furniture combined.

5. Your primary criteria for viewing real estate is: Where will my desk go?

6. You spend more money on books than clothes.

7. You have paid a babysitter to take your children out for the night.

8. Your idea of a spa is Breadloaf.

9. You refuse to share your bookshelves.

10. When you take your child on college visits, the only thing that excites you is the library.

11. When people ask you what you want for Christmas, you say “an agent.”

12. When your kids have puppet shows, you urge them to work on their dialogue a little harder.

13. You have a backup to your backup to your backup.

14. Your children have never said “Sssh, Mommy’s sleeping,” but “Sssh, Mommy’s writing.”

15. You have written a tender and compassionate acknowledgments page for each unpublished work.

16. You have had paper cuts on your palm, not just your finger.

17. The idea of going to jail just . . . does not seem that bad to you.

That's my list -- feel free to share yours!

On My Mind: One Word Tips. NaNoWriMo. Cajones.

Saturday at Montgomery County Writer's Conference (which was a beautifully organized event on a gorgeous campus with great food -- how often does THAT happen?) I taught a 75 minute class called Do's & Don'ts for Writing. I adapted it for the Thriller genre,as they requested, but it's a good primer for any plot-based fiction, and I worked really hard developing the material and the point of view, culled from all my how-to books and working knowledge as an author.

Afterwards, a gentleman came up to me and said, "Great class. The best of the day." I thanked him, and then he said something so bold I didn't even understand it: "Can I have that paper you're reading from?" I asked him to repeat himself. He pointed to the stapled outline in my hand. "The notes you taught the class from. Can I have them?" And I burst out laughing. "No," I said. "Why?" he asked. "Because it contains trade secrets," I whispered.

Given my overall openness at sharing writing tips on my blog, and on twitter, and helping complete strangers who write to me and ask, maybe I shouldn't have been that shocked. But I was. If he had been a man with no hands, or a blind man, or a deaf man, I would have given him the world. "Take notes!" I wanted to scream at him. "Bring a pencil or a laptop, you knucklehead!" He walked away and I was still shaking my head over his nerve, when he walked up a few minutes later with a copy of my first novel, STANDING STILL and asked me to sign it. This was surprise number two, that he wasn't angry with me, and was willing to buy it abook. Then he unleashed surprise number three, as I bent my head over the title page. "Just write your phone number down," he said.

Sigh. Apparently, "Can I have your notes?" is a pick-up line.

I know slides are turned over in the corporate world all the time. But a lifetime of writing advice? Weigh in, guys, go ahead. Tell me I'm wrong.

In the meantime. . . in the spirit of "handing over my notes" -- here are my twitter writing tips from the week:


Today's #NaNoWriMo Tip: STUCK? Maybe someone new needs to knock on the door. Or someone needs to travel to a new place.

1-Word Tip for #NaNoWriMo: SENSES. As in what does your character smell, taste, hear? Use the senses to show.

1-Word Tip for #NaNoWriMo: DESPERATE. If desperate to up the word count, add a dream, flashback or prologue.

Today's 1-Word Tip for #NaNoWriMo: WHY. As in give every character a concrete reason for their actions and desires.

1-Word Tip for #NaNoWriMo: CONFLICT. As in inner conflict. Two paths to take. Two lovers to choose. Creates tension!

1- Word Tip for #NaNoWriMo: DESIRE. Your lead character must want something badly and have obstacles in the way.

A Longish Writer's Tip. Along With A Story of, Well, Woe.

What do I do when I'm stuck in the middle of a novel? I look out the window and play a game I'm good at. It's called "What If . . .?" Spend a few minutes coming up with ten "What if?s" for each character, and you can't help but have plot possibilities unfold. Soon, character by character, connections will emerge. Suddenly "What if Julian was having an affair" lines up with "What if Sylvia is hiding a secret from her daughter" and boom. You have a subplot.

Why am I good at this? Because I have panic disorder. Which is, essentially, the ability to wake up in the middle of the night, hear a thump, and "What if?" myself right into believing tanks from the Spanish Inquisition (hey, what if they have tanks?)are rolling across my lawn. It's a great skill. For those of you who are naturally anxious, use it. For those of you who are not, give it a try.

During the day.

Tips for #NaNoWriMo So Far This Week:

Yes, I'm a two-time veteran. And having written so damn many manuscripts I know how to get tripped up and how to untrip myself. Hope these help.


1. If you have an idea but don't know where it goes, write it anyway. You'll need it for the dreaded middle.

2. Whenever you're feeling strong, surpass your daily word goal. So you have some words banked.


3. Don't take the time to name any characters. Just assign a letter & do it in December.


4. At the end of a work sesh, write a sentence leading into the next scene, so ur not left hanging.

5. Don't be tempted to stop and do research. Leave a placeholder, i.e. "Brilliant facts about X go here."

6. Avoid editing temptation. After a sesh, make a page break & write a sentence of the next scene.


7. Don't fall into the trap of always using description to fill word count. Move to the next scene.


8. Set up mini- rewards tied to mini-goals. Like a few M&Ms, cup of tea, or a warm neck wrap.