In 2016, I was in a coffee shop in Portland. A woman slammed her laptop shut. She laughed and said, “I’ve been trying to start my novel for three years.” This moment stuck with me. Starting a novel seems impossible at first. The blank page is scary. Your characters and plot might feel weak. I’ve […]
I spent three years on my first novel. I never finished it. The story was stuck in a folder, 47,000 words long, going nowhere. I blamed writer’s block and my schedule, but the real issue was I had no plan. Then I found James Thayer’s writing podcast. He showed how to write with before-and-after examples. […]
