About a month ago I was cleaning up my back patio. Next thing I know, these little things were sticking me with needles. I finally realized it was wasps. I have never been stung before and it was quite the experience. The thing is they were relentless. Apparently, they do not lose their stinger, so…
I have to admit, I am probably the last person to tell someone how to prepare for Book-in-a-Week (BIW). I am one of the biggest procrastinators when it comes to writing. For the past four years, I have only been saying, “I am going to start writing fiction”. I have found all sorts of reasons…
Last week I received an email from Baihley Grandison, the Assistant Editor of Writer’s Digest, letting me know that Book-in-a-Week.com (BIW) had been selected for the “101 Best Website for Writers” May/June 2016 issue of Writer’s Digest. The Web Issue. This was exciting news of course but I wanted to let it sink in before…
I often wondered what it would be like working with an editor. I would hear my published writer friends talk about having to do their edits and revisions and making deadlines and I could only dream about someday being able to work on my own edits and revisions. When my book was picked up by…
Writer’s Block. It is a phrase that strikes fear in the hearts of writers everywhere. The day the muse calls in sick. At some point, every writer deals with it: the blank page, not knowing what to write next or where the story is going. It’s Easier than You Think Here are ten quick tips…
Some say the first page of a novel is the most important and then there are others who say it is the first line. If you look back at the first line of what are considered literary classics you will find many great one liners and many not so great ones. [WpProQuiz 1] As writers…
When I ask my students if they read their papers out loud before submitting them, they usually give me a strange look, a look that seems to ask, “Well, why would we do that? What benefit will we get from that?” The answer is “A whole lot,” I tell them. Granted, my students are college…
Hi! I’m Lea Wait. In 1998 I left the corporate life and moved to Maine to write fiction full-time. At first I spent most of my time cleaning and arranging a family home no one had lived in full-time for twenty years, and taking care of my disabled mother. And, of course, writing. I felt…