Writer Unboxed

This blog is about reading rather than writing. In particular, e-reading. I’m not talking about how e-books are outselling paper books, how you can carry a library in your pocket, or how and why you should be getting your work out there into everyone’s e-device. This is about how e-readers are transforming the basic experience [...]

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Today’s guest is psychologist Vince McLeod, who runs a website called The Story Generator. Vince is here today to talk with us about the psychology of our characters–and more than that, how we might use psychological testing to help inform our fiction. Enjoy! How to Use Psychometric Testing to Create Believable Characters In order to [...]

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In my first “real job” out of college, I worked as a committee staffer for a United States senator who had just been elected to his first term in public office. On my first day on the job, my hyper-caffeinated, immediate superior stood in front of me in our office space that was barely large [...]

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There’s incredible emphasis these days on how authors have more power and control than ever in deciding how and when to publish. And I am guilty of propagating this message far and wide. You can find it mentioned in nearly interview I give. Why? Because it’s true. Technology has enabled us all to be active [...]

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I’m writing to you today from my temporary office in Managua, Nicaragua. The office is alternately too hot or too cold, as the window-mounted air conditioner thwarts my every effort to find the “Goldilocks Setting,” the one where the temperature is just right. I’m here, as I have been some dozen times before, training writers [...]

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Last weekend, I attended a conference for long-time published writers, where a host of industry insiders offered their insights on the changing face of publishing. Because of the NINC standards (only authors with two books or more published can join) and the desire to keep the discussion vibrant and flowing, I can’t share many details, [...]

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Therese here. Please welcome returning guest Ollin Morales, who’s here today to talk with us about approaching big blogs for guest stints. Ollin posted with us in March about the purpose of writing, and it was so well received, we wanted to have him back. Ollin’s blog {Courage 2 Create} chronicles his journey as he [...]

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GIVEAWAY: I am excited to give away a free copy of the new 2012 Guide to Literary Agents to a random commenter. Comment within one week; winners must live in Canada/US to receive the book by mail. Good luck to all! Ah platform. It’s that dirty word writers hate. It appeared several years ago like [...]

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Kath here. Please welcome Dawn Tripp to WU today. Dawn’s latest novel GAME OF SECRETS , a murder-mystery spanning two generations, is getting terrific buzz. Booklist calls it “A gracefully told character study of three intelligent, forbidding women and the men who love them, wrapped up in a taut, suspenseful mystery, Tripp’s third novel builds [...]

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All my life, I’ve been obsessed with failure. Not so much other people’s failures — my own failures. This obviously has a destructive quality that doesn’t really serve me (or those who have to deal with me), but there are other aspects that I think are useful to the writing life. It’s the attitude of [...]

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If anyone remembers, back in August I blogged about the completely unforeseen surprises that had been cropping up in my life lately. And within a week of that post, my family had: *moved, during which process my poor mother managed to fall and break her arm * been struck by an earthquake * been struck [...]

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Whilst driving back from the office supply store the other day, my car radio graced me with Rick Nelson’s 1972 hit, Garden Party And here came the lyrics that have such meaning for writers: You can’t please everyone, So you’ve got to please yourself The story goes that this song came about because of a [...]

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