I awoke from a nightmare last weekend and did the sensible thing. I got up and showered off the flop sweat, crawled back in with the ToolMaster, and poked him in the shoulder — firmly, since he was the cause of my distress. “Hey,” he said with a fair degree of irritation. Then something must [...]

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Today’s guest is Marybeth Whalen. Marybeth’s novels include THE MAILBOX, SHE MAKES IT LOOK EASY, THE GUEST BOOK, and THE WISHING TREE, and she is the founder of the website, She Reads. Marybeth says, I’m passionate about sharing the ups and downs of the writing life with other writers and believe that building a community of [...]

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The highway to publication overflows with cars: luxury behemoths; sensible hybrids; nondescript, windowless vans with strange dents that protrude from the inside. Each bears the logo of the mechanic who brought it to life. You’ve built a car, too, with good mileage and a cherry spoiler. [Author’s note: The cars are a metaphor for your [...]

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I’ve decided that I have a new quest as a writer. And I think it could help any other writers who dare to join me in this quest. Like any good quest, it has a mission statement: Say no to woe. (Pretty cool, huh? It even rhymes! Hey, I’m a writer, so the whole making-magic-with-words [...]

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Any caption suggestions? Please post below in the comments section – please post one caption at a time, and let someone else post a comment before posting another. Vote for the caption(s) you like by clicking on “Like.” Caption suggestion with the most Likes by Sat. May 18th gets a selection of writer-focused greeting cards from [...]

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Today’s guest is business writer and editor Tom Bentley. Tom is a published journalist and essayist (300+ articles), and the author of a short story collection, Flowering and Other Stories, published last spring by AuthorMike Ink. His 1999 short story, All That Glitters, won the National Steinbeck Center’s short story contest, and he has won many [...]

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Today’s guest is award-winning humor blogger Leanne Shirtliffe. Leanne is the author of DON’T LICK THE MINIVAN: And Other Things I Never Thought I’d Say to my Kids. She writes funny stuff for the Huffington Post and Nickelodeon’s NickMom.com. When she’s not stopping her twins from licking frozen flagpoles, she teaches English to teenagers who are slightly [...]

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In the old days, writers built a following by earning the esteem of readers through great writing. Today, through the magic of social networks like Twitter, you can simply pretend to read thousands of strangers describing their brunch. Not familiar with Twitter? Webster’s Dictionary defines Twitter as “Kinda like Facebook, but without Farmville or family [...]

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Please welcome Julia Munroe Martin as a new semi-regular contributor with Writer Unboxed! We are thrilled this long-time community member will be with us to share her wit and wisdom with us all. Welcome, Julia! I’m not that attached to my name (or at least I never thought I was). Maybe because I’ve had so [...]

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You know those red dots on directories of shopping malls and airports? The red dot that’s labeled YOU ARE HERE? Well, “Here” is where I am: waiting for an editor to make an offer on my first book. My brilliant agent has carefully selected specific editors, then pitched my manuscript in a way that accurately [...]

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There have been numerous WU posts about how we begin our books, but I think the topic is worthy of repeated exploration, because beginnings are crucial. Your book’s beginning is the first impression you make on your readers, and you’ve got a very limited time in which to try to make that a good impression. [...]

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