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Since Elon Musk took over Twitter, I’ve been pondering this question, especially in relation to writers using the platforms to connect and promote their work. To me, most platforms are like a crowded mall where everyone is shouting at the top of their lungs. There’s the random panhandler or...

There’s a discussion on writer Twitter about the length of time it takes for agents and publications to respond. In some cases, it’s been so long that the work has already been accepted and published elsewhere.  The online discussion centered around two posts: a writer’s commenting that they got...

In my quest to be fair and balanced, I like to read commentary from a range of sources. Moderate publications are springing up in the ongoing battle to counter the views of the political extremes. One of those is Persuasion, an online publication that bills itself as being Centrist....

I met with a former student for coffee the other day. Her husband just graduated from medical school and they’re in the process of moving to another state for his residency. We got to talking about how, especially as women, when we’re raising a family, supporting the people in...

Over the last few months, I’ve been grappling with a confluence of writing experiences related to point of view. A Twitter post by Steve Edwards (@The_Big_Quiet) pushed me over the edge.  Interrogate POV. I don’t mean only first- or third-person or omniscient. I mean: Who *are* your characters? Who...

I am hard at work revising a novel. A member of my book group asked me if my main character is white and, if so, do I describe her race. Coincidentally, I have two trusted readers who in giving feedback on the manuscript asked the same question. Is this...

ISN’T THAT HORRIFYING? by Cavin Gonzalez. Published by Back Patio Press The cover blurbs for I Could Be Your Neighbor, Isn’t that Horrifying? say things like “fun-house mirror” and “a hybrid of prose and poetry, not really comfortable being either.” I concur. This collection of micro-fiction pieces are flashes inside...

Now and then words in a book I’m reading jump up and slap me in the face. Gnomon, by Nick Harkaway, has those words. I’m not sure I can accurately describe what the book is about. It’s alternate reality, artificial intelligence, politics, history, and Greek mythology moshed together. I’m...

I used an old communication model in my classes to emphasize that communication takes place in the mind of the receiver. If our message isn’t crafted with the receiver in mind, it’s likely that they won’t interpret the message as we intend.     Black Lives Matter! Because the...