Advice Column #3 Question: My ultimate goal is to get my novel published. But I keep hearing in order to get published, I need a platform. That always feels like you can’t get the job until you have experience. But how do you get experience if they won't give you the job? Ok, I get it. I need to show I’m worth the investment. Most advise entering contests and submitting short stories. Earn my writing cred. What’s the best way to make this happen? Answer: So you want to write a short story with the primary goal of getting it published? Then let’s start at that goal and work backwards. First task: Know where you plan to submit. There are several ways to get short story credentials: literary ma
Advice Column #2 Question: I am writing my first novel and have a question about dialogue. I am finding conflicting advice about the use of ‘said.’ Some say that’s all you should use, others say change it up with other synonyms of the word said. Which is correct? Answer: Excellent question as this is an ongoing debate on how to write dialogue. Kurt Vonnegut said it is a writer’s responsibility to, “use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time is wasted.” Vonnegut often wrote of the importance of respecting your reader, giving them someone to root for, and valuing their time and intelligence. His perspective is important in this debate because the prima
