Is Your Story Idea Worth Writing About?
Every story begins with an idea. The idea may come to you while listening to a song, driving a car, or reading a newspaper. You might be the kind of person who gets a dozen story ideas a day, or maybe they come to you rarely. The question is, how do you know if your […]
You and Your Dumb Ideas
A writer contacted me a couple of days ago to ask if I would read and critique a screenplay. In looking at his query letter, it was obvious to me for a host of reasons that making this particular movie would be a bad idea. No studio in Hollywood would touch it. The audience for […]
Great Ideas
As a judge for one of the world’s largest writing contests, I’m often asked, “What are you looking for?” The truth is, I’m looking for three things. I want a story based upon an interesting idea, one with a well-formed plot, and one that is beautifully written. Let’s talk a bit about ideas, and I’ll […]
How to Make a Million Dollars with Your Writing
A couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to participate in IndieReCon, a free online writers’ conference for self-published authors. I did a Google Hangout with Ali (our first time ever, there was a steep learning curve!) and talked about my thoughts on how to write a bestselling novel that will make you a million […]
