What makes a novel count as “literary fiction?” Is it more impressive than commercial fiction? And what’s the difference?

Today, I’m going to give you my highly opinionated and polarizing take on this question as a novelist, reader, and human being. Stick around and read till the end if you want to either yell “amen!” at me or throw something at your computer screen. Ready?

There’s nothing quite like getting to that 80% point in a book and reaching a brilliant plot twist, is there? That moment when you feel like your mind has been blown because it’s so perfect! You never saw it coming, and yet it feels right, like of course that was going to happen!

So how do you write one of these? Today I’m going to give you three strategies to help you write a killer plot twist.

If you’re anything like me and avoid conflict like it’s your career, you may have also struggled with creating real, genuine conflict in your fiction. I certainly have. Luckily for us, fiction is not real life.

How do you develop a compelling, authentic conflict in your fiction that has actual tension in it? I’m going to give you four of my favorite strategies.

Before I was a published author, I felt like I was always on the Internet googling things about writing. How many words should my novel be? What contests could I enter? What classes should I take? What was the best writing software? What about the best place to find an agent? My questions were endless.

There are so many sites out there offering advice and services to writers—today, I want to share with you my 7 favorite websites for writers and aspiring authors and why I love them so much. Let’s go! 

If you’re here, you probably love stories. And if you love stories and you’re anything like me, you get your stories in whatever medium you can, whether that’s novels, movies, TV, or maybe something else.

And while there’s nothing quite like reading for me, I am obsessed with certain favorite shows: Trying is one of them, Schitt’s Creek is another.

Today, I want to share four things that TV shows can teach us about writing more compelling characters in our fiction.

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.

There’s nothing like getting to the end of a great book and leaving feeling totally satisfied. Right?? Even if it didn’t end how you expected, you sigh that big content sigh…[do it] You know the one I’m talking about. That sigh.

But there’s also the opposite…a book can be amazing all of the way through, but if the ending isn’t satisfying, I don’t have good memories of it.

So how do you stick the landing? I’m going to share three strategies for how to write a satisfying ending to your story. Let’s go.

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.