Writing & Books
The Three Dimensions of Character
Surface behaviors, backstory, and high-stakes choices — fiction gives us access to all three dimensions of character. Larry Brooks explains how to develop and integrate each one.
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Thoughts on faith, motherhood, grief, writing, and the stories that shape us.
Wellness
Be the Hope
My brother Jim would be fifty-four today. We lost him to suicide seven years ago. It's up to those of us who've lost a beloved to be the hope.
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Motherhood Wellness
All About Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding and postpartum mental health are deeply connected. When everything else went wrong after the birth of my first child, nursing proved an oasis.
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Wellness
Monday Mindset: On the Real Things
In one of the darkest weeks in U.S. history, light still crowds out the darkness — in armies of volunteers, transformed factories, and the simple pleasures of a slowed-down life.
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Writing & Books
Writing Character: Where to Begin?
The essence of story isn't character — it's conflict. Larry Brooks lays out seven key variables that give fiction writers a place to begin building rich, compelling characters.
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Current Events
For the Love of New York
From my first forty-eight hours in Manhattan to covering Ground Zero after 9/11, New York has always pulled at my heart. Now, as a pandemic empties its streets, the city's spirit endures.
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Writing & Books
Friday Fact: On Little House
Laura Ingalls Wilder didn't start writing the Little House series until she was in her sixties. For all of us with writing projects on the back burner: hope is immune to all viruses.
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Current Events Writing & Books
Monday Quote: On Doing What We Can't
Wading into fiction after twenty years of journalism is freeing and daunting. During this pandemic season, may we push beyond our comfort zones and make ourselves good at something new.
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Current Events Writing & Books
Friday Fact: Amazon, Soon-to-Be King of U.S. Publishing
Amazon controls over 80 percent of ebook sales, and alarmingly little stands in the way of it controlling the entire book industry. What does that mean for authors?
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Writing & Books
Monday Quote: On Inspiration
Van Gogh painted for only ten years and knew almost no success, yet he laid the foundations of modern art. May we take heart and keep writing, whether or not we know success.
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Current Events Writing & Books
Friday Fact: On Publishing Books
Thirty years ago, there were half a million books on the market. Today, a new book may compete against fifteen million titles.
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Writing & Books
Monday Quote: On Writing Books
I never found the postpartum book I needed, so I wrote it. The best advice any writer can follow: write the book you wish you could read.
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