writing advice

Some advice for writers, in no particular order of importance:

Be willing to take risks in your writing. The craft of revision allows us to re-write what's not working, but we'll never know whether it works if we don't try, and all too often playing it safe doesn't work.

As a writer, you are a witness as well as a participant. Being a witness often involves more than observance. It also requires listening. Practice stillness. Not an easy thing to do in a world of so many distractions. But you'd be surprised how even a few minutes of stillness per day can profundly affect the writing process.

You have to write the book you would want to read. Ditto for the movie you want to see, the song you want to hear, and so on. Marketing and promotion and platforms and all that are important from a business standpoint, but don't let that figure into your writing process. From an academic perspective, write the paper you would want to read, not the one you think would get the A. In my experience, the A comes to you when you stop giving it so much attention. Kinda like cats.

Re-reading is re-writing.

There's nothing wrong with wanting to be a bestseller, or wanting to make a living as an author, and a comfortable one at that. There's nothing wrong with wanting to be a famous novelist. Reject the voices that tell you you're never going to make any money from this, or that you're not a true artist because you want to make money. Know your intentions, and honor them. Take the path that is right for you. Commit. Persevere.

Hone your craft.

Perfection has no place in a first draft. It only serves as an obstacle to your creativity. Allow the writing to suck, because it will (and quite often) throughout the process. Embrace the suckage because it's the only way you'll have any fun.

When writer's block strikes (and it will), ask yourself what you're really afraid of. Nine times out of ten it's the fear that you're no good. Then do the best you can to write through it. Sometimes it's just not going to work, and you've got to allow that, too. The sun is always shining behind the clouds.

When it comes to chocolate chip cookies and adverbs during the writing process, consume the latter in moderation, not the former.

Which of the above pieces of advice most resonates with you, and why? What are some of your favorite pieces of advice from other writers?

can I go again?

I'll be turning 41 next week. Yeah, that went fast, didn't it.

I've been reflecting on this past year of being 40 -- how extraordinary it was. One of the most extraordinary years I've ever had. So many dreams come true. So many successes. A few failures along the way, too. Some deep lows as well as steep highs. And as the cycle rolls to an end, I feel as most roller-coaster enthusiasts feel the moment they get off the ride: Can I go again?

Seriously, I'd like to be 40 all over again--well, not exactly re-live it all, just keep being 40 for another year. As if it was the number that somehow manifested all the good fortune. I want to make it last a little longer. Keep drawing all that good energy to me. Keep meeting the people I want to meet (or have already met, and meet them again), achieving the goals I want to achieve, and manifesting the intentions of my creative imagination. Keep having all that fun.

And let's face it: I'd like to keep covering up those greys.

It's easy to fall into the trap of trying to stay on top of the mountain once you've reached it, especially since there's nowhere to go but down. We've seen it before: Some people (and not necessarily the ones I mention below) who achieve phenomenal success so early on become paralyzed by that success and can never quite live up to it. And of course, the demanding public and critics never let them forget it. Everything McCartney, et. al, ever did following Sgt Pepper was forever compared to it, as Brian Wilson was to Pet Sounds, Michael Jackson to Thriller, Aaron Sorkin to The West Wing, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck to Good Will Hunting, JK Rowling to Harry Potter, and so on. We want Oscar-calibre on demand. We want to keep them on the pedestal, where they dazzle so brightly in the sunlight. We want the thrill of the roller-coaster ride to never end.

But it has to.

Thing is, some never realized it was a phenomenon in the first place.

It'd be pretty difficult to match, much less top, the year I've had. I can already see myself falling into the trap of disappointment at times: Sure, my book sales are good right now, but not as good as this time last year... But I can't let myself get sucked into that. I can't create with the intention to match that success; otherwise I'll never be satisfied, and I'll never, ever make it. I can't hold every achievement and every moment next to the Year of Being 40.

But that's not to say that I can't set the bar high on my intentions. No, I'm still thinking big. But I'm thinking big for this year. A new year, new ideas, new markets, new events, new readers, new possibilities. A new ride, with new thrills of its own. A new mountain. Different, rather than better or worse than the last one. That's my goal, to keep sight of that.

And numerologically speaking, "1" is an important number this year. So perhaps 41 will bring a magic all of its own.

As long as I get to keep coloring the greys.

a writer's resolutions

You think: This is going to be a great year. I'm going to write 2,000 -- no, 5,000 words per day, at 6AM, every day! Right after my 3-mile run and my power breakfast of Wheaties and fresh fruit!

You do: Sleep until 9AM after activating your snooze alarm five times, eat two pop tarts, and spend two hours on Facebook and Twitter. When you open Word, you stare at it blankly, close it, and check what's on Food Network.


You think: This is the year I'm going to blog every single day, and it's going to be full of pith and wisdom and keep my readers clamouring for more!

You do: Stare at it in fear, day after day, wondering if the last wise thought you had came to you in a caffeine-induced hallucination during your 13-hr drive from Raleigh to Long Island. Come to think of it, did you ever have anything worthwhile to say?


You think: I'm going to write a novel and finish it in six months. No more of this two-year revision process! I'm a writer, dammit! This stuff oughtta just flow out of me like water! Heck, maybe I'll even write two novels this year!

You do: Re-read and revise, re-read and re-vise, re-read and revise, because it's that eighteenth draft that makes the difference, that scrutiny of choosing one word over another, that making sure you've woven your plot together without a dropped stitch somewhere that could potentially unravel the whole thing. It takes a little bit of time.


You think: I'm gonna sell a zillion copies, have my own merchandising empire with coffeecups and pillowcases and dolls that say catchphrases from my novel, and that's all before the movies get made!

You do: Publish your novel, obsessively check your Amazon rankings, and celebrate when the number of copies sold has exceeded your low expectations.


You think: This year I'm going to be the envy of my friends with my glamorous writing life!

You do: Thank God for your teaching job with health insurance while you're banging your head on the table after discovering halfway through your revisions that you wouldn't even buy this book if it were published. Heck, not even if it was free.


This year, I resolve to listen to what my characters have to say, write and read a little bit every day when I can (and some days writing is thinking), and accept that some days it's gonna suck and some days it's gonna be blissful. I'm going to try to be mindful in all areas of my life while allowing myself to play every chance I get. And when I'm not in the mood for any of it, I resolve to hug the teddy bear I got for Christmas (because I've decided you're never too old to have a teddy bear) and allow the words to come to me another day. Because they will. They always do.

As for the blog -- well, I can't make any promises.

Happy 2011, everyone. :)

final post of 2010, and it's a yummy one

Hi friends-

I have one more post in me -- a top ten list of Sarah's and my favorite cookies in honor of Why I Love Singlehood. We had written them for the Kindle Daily Post, but due to space constraints, the post had to be shortened to the essentials (a rather yummy pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe, found here).

We didn't want all that good writing to go to waste, however, so here's our top ten list. May you be inspired to make one or all, and may you all have a wonderful Christmas.

‘Tis the season…the cookie season, that is. And this season, we dare you to skip the sugar cookies, forget the gingerbreads, and pass on the butter spritzes as we re-think the Christmas cookie.

Eva Perino, the protagonist in our new novel Why I Love Singlehood, loves to bake. And so, in honor of her (and the launch of our book), we’ve put together a list of our Top 10 favorite holiday cookies, hopefully securing ourselves a permanent spot on Santa’s “Nice” list by making an extra batch just for him.

10. Cranberry White Chocolate Chip cookies. There’s no need for cranberries to go out of season so quickly. That’s why we love to feature them throughout the entire holiday season. Pair them with a smooth white hot cocoa, revel in the bite of bitter and splash of color cranberries bring, and enjoy!

9. Almond Biscotti is Eva’s favorite comfort food for days that call for a steaming cup of vanilla chai and family stories. Trust us, she’s on to something.

8. Anything with marzipan. Really. Anything. Especially if it involves a thick layer of dark chocolate ganache and comes with hot buttered rum. You just can’t go wrong.

7. What Italian Rainbow cookies require in extra preparation time, they make up for in tradition. Want the true Italian experience? Enjoy your rainbow cookies with a fresh cappuccino. (And then take holiday cheer to a whole new level when you partner your cappuccino with an aperitif like frangelico, strega or amaretto.) Andiamo!

6. Norman’s 7 Layer Bars. Although the Originals at The Grounds might debate whether these belong in the cookie category, we side with Eva’s manager, Norman, when he says these bars are so good there’s no need to make anything else! Just be careful, these puppies pack a decadent punch, so pair them with a calm tea (herbal, green, black, or white) or an equally bold dark roast or hazelnut coffee.

5. Anisette snowflakes. Chic and tasty—what more can you ask for? Embrace the chill and balance anisette’s heady flavor with the smooth, sweet tones of an Irish cream on the rocks.

4. Nut-based cookies like Pfeffernusse (German) or Kourabiedes (Greek) are a nice change from the norm. The combination of nutty undertones with licorice (in the case of pfeffernusse) or orange (as with kourabiedes) is far more interesting than a flour-and-sugar based cookie, and will go perfectly with a hazelnut latte or cinnamon-spiced mocha.

3. Chai shortbread. At one point during our writing process, we actually had to count the number of times Eva made shortbread in Why I Love Singlehood—we’re that crazy about them in all their buttery goodness. And what could possibly make a good thing better? Add a bit of vanilla chai mix and pair with a spicy mulled cider. They’ll practically create their own holiday cheer.

2. What’s a holiday (or any day) without chocolate? And this season, Chocolate Peppermint Crunch cookies are our favorites for both comfort and kick. There’s only one way that adding crushed candy canes to your favorite, gooey chocolate-chocolate chip cookie can be improved: serving them warm with a scoop of vanilla (or better yet, peppermint) ice cream and a mug of hot cocoa.

1. Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies. Our favorite thing about these cakey cookies is that pumpkin is in style from October through January…which gives us plenty of time to make a few batches of these super easy, not-too-sweet treats (check out the recipe below!). Give Santa something to look forward to: pair these pumpkin cookies with eggnog to really embrace the season. (And if you’re feeling daring, try mixing in some rum—the darker the better—and some extra nutmeg for an eggnog experience that Minerva’s husband Jay would be proud of.)

Make a few, or institute your own Cookie of the Week and try ‘em all. And try to give some away…if you can.

end-of-year message

"I'll Have What She's Having" will be on Winter Break for the remainder of this year. In the meantime, I'd like to thank everyone, from top to bottom of my heart, for all the love and support you've given me this year. I don't think I've ever had a year as magical as this one, with so many dreams coming to fruition and so many diary entries beginning with "You'll never guess what happened today..."

May 2011 exceed my intentions, and yours.

And now, for some shameless self-promotion: Why I Love Singlehood had a wonderful debut on December 1st ('twas so fab to see so many Facebook friends change their profile photo to the WILS cover for the day!) and is doing well in the Amazon Kindle Store rankings. 'Tis the season of giving, and you can now give Kindle books as gifts! Perhaps you know a friend or relative (male or female) who loves hanging out in coffeeshops, or cookies, or enjoys smart romantic comedies. Makes a great virtual stocking stuffer!

I bid each of you a Joyful Hanukkah, Blessed Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, Hopeful Winter Solstice, and any other means of ritual or celebration that takes place during this time. Pray for a soldier. Pay forward a kindness. Give a little bit of time. Express gratitude and appreciation. Forgive someone for a wrongdoing. Remember those you've lost. Practice peace. Read a book.

Thank you. See you next year.

Wearing Donnie Torr: guest post by Roberto Scarlato.

Readers, I've been busy with the end-of-the-semester grading, finishing up proofreading edit checks for the AmazonEncore version of Faking It, and spreading the word about the launch of Why I Love Singlehood (that's right, it's here!).

Fortunately, when it comes to updating my blog, I have help.

Roberto Scarlato is like me--he loves to talk about the writing process, how an idea moves from conception to fruition, and all the love, blood, sweat, and tears that go into that process. So, here is Rob to tell you all about his latest book, Wearing Donnie Torr. Be sure to check out the links at the bottom of the post--his books are available on both Kindle and Nook for the bargain price of 99 cents!

When I first sat down to write this book, I had a prepared outline for fifteen chapters. But the original idea came out like a shot in the dark. It's been over a decade since I came up with the idea of Mr. Dead Eyes, a supernatural medical thriller of sorts. In that story, a character just barged into the pages. That man is Thomas Wilker, an unconventional detective with somewhat questionable methods. But, by one degree or another, he always links one clue to the next and eventually tracks down serial killers. He's a gruff, hairy, Italian, over the hill detective who, and I didn't know this at the time, was spawned from my father. Like my father, this new character interested me and I ended up finding out more about him while writing the story. In one scene, on a plane headed for California, Thomas has an impromptu chat with a nosy passenger to his left. The man observes a ghastly scar on the detective's hand. Thomas, noticing this, tells the man the horrid tale of how he got the scar: from trapping a serial killer in Wisconsin.

That got the ball rolling. In 2002 I started mapping out details of the plot and began writing it. Sometimes I stayed up all night just to write. It went smoother and filled in the down times while I was still working on Mr. Dead Eyes. I've always enjoyed the idea of cross overs. Now I was toying around with the idea of a newer boogieman, something wicked in the woods.

The idea also spawned from the fact that I had an unhealthy bond with my own black leather jacket. I wore that thing for the look, sometimes overdoing it by wearing it in the winter or in eighty degree weather. Some of my friends questioned if they would ever see me without it. They called it my Second Skin and in a way it was. That got me to thinking those explosive What If's...

What if an ordinary guy had a leather jacket with the killer's spirit still in it?

What would happen if he put it on?

What would he do if he couldn't take it off?

What would you do if the killer was you?

Even typing it brings back that old chill. I'm happy to say that the book is now finished, up on Amazon and, thanks to the Search Inside feature, you can now read the first 20 pages of this supernatural thriller. It's 336 pages long, has an author's note, and a special sneak preview of what I'm working on right now. It'll be an action/adventure/mystery in the same vein as National Treasure but on a much smaller scale. I'm also well into my second short story collection which I should be wrapping up soon.

Be sure to check out my process on my own blog robertoscarlato.blogspot.com.

Wearing Donnie Torr - Back Cover Summary:

Deep in the Wisconsin woods, a killer waited patiently. On a cold night in 1999, the notorious Donnie Torr went down in a hail of gunfire. The threat to the town was supposedly eliminated. Now, in 2002, local writer James Dorrell has just purchased a leather jacket at the thrift store. He knows its getting colder, bleaker as the weather grows gray. But what he doesn't know is that the killer lived on, connected to the very vessel of the jacket that James now owns. With the leather fusing to his skin, his thoughts being perpetrated with malicious fantasies, and his sudden habit of sleep walking, James must discover how the killer accomplished such a curse and why he chose James to do his bidding. Better yet, James will have to figure out an ending for this horrifying tale...that might be his own.

For now, that's all I got, folks.

Mr. Dead Eyes, For What It's Worth and Wearing Donnie Torr are available on Amazon Kindle as well as The Barnes and Noble Nook for the low price of 99 cents.

a writer gives thanks

A writer gives thanks...

...when the writing is going well. Those days usually come in spurts, and are sporadic.

...when the writing is not going well. That's when we get all our housework done, catch up on correspondence, clean out the closets, and take long walks. And then, in the middle of all that, an idea, an image, or a voice appears.

...when the voices in our heads get louder. It's not a sign of insanity, but rather that it's time to begin a new novel, or story, or play, or film, or essay, or poem.

...when the voices quiet down. That means it's time to sleep. Or revise.

...when we call the work "finished" (even though, in our minds, it's never really finished). Mentally, we may feel like we've just given birth. But we also celebrate as if we've just given birth.

...when our writing goes not into a drawer, but into the hands of a real live reader.

...when a reader lets us know that s/he loves what we've written. Our hour, day, week, month, year is made.

...when a reader lets us know that s/he hates what we've written. We now have the inspiration to write a story about a character who gets a piano dropped on him/her. Or has to sit through a marathon of the worst sitcom episodes ever. Or has to drink that cherry 7-Up. Flat.


And, on a personal note, this writer (yours truly) gives thanks to (and for) all of you who made this year so fantastic. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.