Let's talk. Here, I'll answer questions I've been asked. Ask me another if you want. Then, if you'd like to help me with my research, go to My Questions For You. And thanks!


Q: Do you work a set number of hours every day?

A: I try to, but the operative word is try. I have young children, and they make it hard to keep a regular schedule. Plus, I tend to be a sprinter: I get totally absorbed in something and work for many hours straight (16-20 hours, sometimes) hardly eating or going to the bathroom. I neglect everything else. Then I take a break for a day or two. I love working like that, but it isn't feasible right now. So I do something every day, even if it's just blogging.


Q: Do you recommend emerging writers join a writers group?

A: Yes, but my answer is qualified. A good writers group is the best (and cheapest, by far) education a writer can get. BUT. A bad one is worse than worthless. A lot of good writers have quit, and a lot of great manuscripts trashed, because of bad writers group. But how do you find a good one?

• Look for a group that requires every critic to make positive statements as well as negative ones. Face it: it hurts to have people talk smack about your baby, and a little sugar eases the pain. Also, if writers are required to make positive comments, it tends to show a group that respects the writer and doesn't find joy in trashing work. Oh, and if you come home depressed after every meeting, it's the wrong group.


• Look for a group that doesn't allow the submitting author to respond to critiques, other than to say "Thank you" and maybe ask questions for clarification. Otherwise, the writer spends the whole time defending her work (trust me: you cannot help yourself; neither can I) and misses the real point.


• I think the best groups require written critiques of printed material submitted in advance. First, we're writing books. They are intended to be seen, not heard. So you get a more accurate reading if your critiquers see the manuscript. Second, and most important, your education isn't going to come from people telling you what's wrong with your manuscript. It's going to come from YOU tellling people what's wrong with theirs. It's easier to see problems in other people's writing than your own, but by studiously writing crits over and over, you begin to see the same problems in your own. Then you can edit your own work. And if you have to submit a written crit, you'll do a more thorough job, hence the education is much faster.


• The best groups have continuity. If a group's been going for 10 years, it's probably a good one.