Monthly Archives: May 2021

Robert Frost, or so the story goes, was once at a cocktail party where a woman gushed, “Oh, you must tell me, Mr. Frost: Is it difficult to write poetry?” He replied, “Madame, either it is easy, or it is … Continue reading →

I’ve been reading some unpublished fiction this week, chapters or complete manuscripts by aspiring authors. The difficulties that these earnest scribblers get themselves into are so various that it’s difficult to generalize about the nature of the problem. And of … Continue reading →

It is a firmly established fact in the world of commercial publishing that there is a Correct Length for novels of each genre. This is why Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov (775 pages) is exactly the same length as his Crime … Continue reading →

Again and again, the developmental editor I hired to work on my Leafstone series wanted me to include more about the inner feelings of the characters. Specifically of the female characters; she never once desired to know more about the … Continue reading →