Feedback: it's a necessary part of being a writer, but it can be paralyzing.

​Earlier this month, a writer in my program confessed that she'd solicited feedback and, after receiving it, found herself unable to move forward. She said she wouldn't be asking for feedback again. Oof. I felt so bad for her.

And I totally got it. How do you get feedback on your writing without being derailed by it? Today, I want to discuss exactly that.

Welcome to another installment of ‘Opening the Writer’s Desk,’ where we take a deep dive into writing tips from today’s most widely-read authors. Today we’re going to be taking a look at author Ernest Hemingway and the techniques he’s used in his own writing.

Hemingway is known for a kind of stark, unadorned style of writing that often leaves you feeling like someone’s punched you in the gut—he’s a staple of American literature, and you probably had to read something by him in high school. So…how did Hemingway do it, what were his tricks?

How do you go from a story idea to a written draft? That’s the million dollar question for so many aspiring writers out there.

I work with a lot of writers, and one question I hear all the time is: “Mary, I’m stuck. I’ve been pre-writing for years, and I just can’t get started on my draft. What should I do?”

Today, I’m going to give you 3 ideas for how to get from story idea to first draft. Let’s go. 

Hi, welcome to another installment of ‘Opening the Writer’s Desk,’ where we take a deep dive into the writing tips from today’s most widely-read authors.

Today, we’re going to be taking a look at author Toni Morrison and the techniques she’s used in her own writing.

Let me say how much of a fan I am of Toni Morrison. I love the way her writing balances the brutal with the lyrical, and gut-wrenching moments with the tender moments.

Best known as the author of novels including Beloved, she’s someone who we all can learn from, and I’m excited to share with you some tips straight from her desk today.

When you’re short on time—which, let’s be honest, we all are—you often have to find a wavy to get in the creative zone fast. If you only have 30 minutes, you don’t want to spend 20 of them trying to feel inspired.

One of my go-to strategies for this is not just to find the most inspiring spaces, but to create them where you find them. Today, I want to share ideas for creating your very own “writer’s room”. Let’s go.

Today I'm sharing four ways to speed up your writing.

Do you sometimes wish you could write more quickly? Often we can develop habits that slow us down and hold us back.

When it comes to writing our stories, not that speed is everything, but it certainly doesn't hurt to be able to write faster with everything we all have going on all the time. In this post, I want to share four ways that you can speed up your writing process.

These are all ways that I share with my students. So let's go.

So…should you get an MFA in Creative Writing, or not? I asked myself this question for YEARS.

In fact, about every two years for a decade, I’d freak out and apply to MFA programs. I never wound up going, and eventually, I sold my first novel…and my second and my third.

So what did I learn? Today, I’m going to share with you the pros and cons of an MFA in Creative Writing, based on my own experience as both a published author and as a writing coach to dozens of writers working on books, some of whom have MFAs and many of whom don’t.

Today I'm going to be sharing with you the complete guide to getting published; to getting your first draft pitch ready.

You have a book idea and you're ready to write, or maybe you're even well on your way to getting it done. But how do you actually get published? Because writing is one thing and getting published is another.

In this post I'm going to share seven must knows for getting that book that you're writing or that you've written on shelves.

Raise your hand if you hate the word plot. Plot is one of those words that, as my favorite writer George Saunders notes, isn’t very useful for us writers.

Today, I’m going to share a definition of plot that I actually find actionable and tell you how I use that definition to write my novels. I’ve used it to write and publish three novels and counting.

It’s also going to help you plot your book quickly. Ready? Let’s go.