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A Conversation with S. M. Dunning
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18 min read
S. M. Dunning is the author of The Perilous Times Saga, a trilogy for young adult readers. Its first volume—Suzy and the Magic Turnip—released earlier this year. More importantly, to me at least, Stephen was my long-suffering advisor in grad school. I was thrilled to work on these novels with him, and I’m just as…
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When is your writing NOT ready?
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3 min read
Last week, a reader posted a thoughtful question on my blog: How do you know when a piece of copy is ready to send off? I think this is one of the hardest challenges as a writer. Interesting point about perfectionism and editing/writing. I am one of those, and obsessive. The thing is a piece…
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Celebrate Your False Starts
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3 min read
Do a lot of perfectionists become writers or is writing just an inherently perfectionistic task? There’s probably not a scientifically-sound answer to that question. But I’ve seen a lot of people slam into a metaphorical wall thanks to maladaptive perfectionism. Sometimes that looks like endless editing. You’ve probably met this writer before. They’re steadily revising…
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The High Stakes of Writer’s Block
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3 min read
When we have trouble writing, the words are never the problem. I learned this lesson the hard way as a part-time grad student. For my final paper, I had the perfect assignment: write 40+ pages about W. H. Auden. He was (and is) my favorite poet and a perennial muse. Few things invigorate me as…
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