News — writing encouragement
Writing to the market or writing for writing’s sake?
Amy Leibowitz writing writing advice writing encouragement
There are advantages and disadvantages to both. More often than not, being a prolific and popular author generates significant in-the-moment income. It can also leave room for an author to experiment with other styles on the side, knowing they don’t have...
Writing in the time of COVID-19
Amy Leibowitz COVID-19 writing writing encouragement
These are strange times we’re living in. I wouldn’t have thought this would happen in my lifetime. And yet, here we are.
Because I have teenage children, our house is usually a flurry of activity. Someone always has somewhere to go. I work from home, but everyone else is usually out of the house by 7:15am (if not earlier some days). Then there are after school sports and theater, plus evening activities. It can feel as if we don’t rest at all!
Now we’re all home, all the time, aside from walking our...
NaNoWriMo: Midway point!
Amy Leibowitz nanowrimo National Novel Writing Month writing writing advice writing encouragement
Happy Friday, and happy mid-National Novel Writing Month to those who are participating.
This is “over the hump” day, the halfway mark where, for many of us, things begin to flow. We’ve figured out who the Big Bad is, or we know what our hero has to do to finish strong. We’ve had an aha! moment. Words pour out of us like water, and we’re ready to go the distance.
Maybe.
Or maybe we’re ready to scrap the last 25k words because they sound like nonsense, endless babble that goes nowhere....
NaNoWriMo: The last mile
Amy Leibowitz nanowrimo running writing writing encouragement
Technically, the last third of National Novel Writing Month doesn't start until Wednesday. But who's counting?
My son runs cross-country in the fall. (That's him in the picture above. He's a tall, skinny white boy wearing a purple and white school uniform, running across a stretch of grass, with cars and trees in the background.) For varsity and JV, this is a 3-mile run (5k), usually through a town park. The terrain can be anywhere from nearly flat to multiple steep hills, open fields to dense trees. Running doesn't stop just because of...
Writing tips: "show, don't tell"
Amy Leibowitz show and tell tips writing writing advice writing encouragement
Everyone's heard "show, don't tell" at least once. It gets passed around in workshops, classes, and critique groups. It takes other forms, too. Sometimes it's labeled as "spoon-feeding" or "info-dumping," depending on the genre. It's probably the most common piece of writing advice ever given.
It's also the most meaningless.
"Show, don't tell" has a somewhat unfortunate history. It may be anti-communist propaganda, and it definitely has