As a writer, I like to put my stories in places that will become sort of a third character. You don’t want stories that could take place in front of a white sheet that seems just as valid in Philadelphia, New York City, or Guam. WHERE you put your story is important. If you’re going to be specific, be really specific. Pick a place for a reason and write about it like you KNOW it. Especially if your characters are natives. Now, as a human being who wasn’t born dripping rich

Here’s the skinny, kids. It’s not hard to write a truly wonderful book. You’ve got an idea, you’ve got interesting characters, you’ve got detailed villains, and you’ve got a unique plot. All the ingredients are there. All you need is to combine them in a wonderfully-seasoned stew. You’ve written a first chapter, certainly. And a second chapter. Perhaps you’ve gone as far as three. Most writers get to four, sometimes even five. Many write all the way until ‘The End’, however m

The best time to write, I’ve found, is the time when you DON’T want to write. When you feel like your brain is a lump of dehydrated dust, you have no ideas, and you just can’t FEEL the story any more. THAT’S the best time to sit down, hammer out a couple of words, and just freakin’ DO it. You’re not always going to want to write. I don’t. But those times are fewer and fewer now, because when I feel like watching TV or reading a book, and I SHOULD be writing, I make myself sit