Family and Fiction Part One: Immediate Family (yikes!)
Anyone who writes will likely appreciate the support and encouragement of their family. I’ve already shared about my “First Reader” husband, a fellow who cheers when stories are sold and consoles when rejections roll in. He was as thrilled as I was when, in 2007, I...
Writing and Family
Anyone who writes will likely appreciate the support and encouragement of their family. I’ve already shared about my “First Reader” husband, a fellow who cheers when stories are sold and consoles when rejections roll in. He was as thrilled as I was when, in 2007, I...
The Writer’s Team, Part Two: The Critique Partner
Your new manuscript has made it past the First Reader with flying colors and a kindly criticism or two. Congratulations! Enjoy this victory while you can, because the next step can be a bit of an ego-buster. It’s time to pass your work on to your next literary judge....
The Writer’s Team, Part One: The First Reader
Writing is a solitary pursuit. Sure, all the characters in a book or story could keep the writer company, but they have their own lives to pursue. After weeks, months or even years of crafting an idea into a first, second, third, fourth draft and beyond, the lonely...
The Special Thing About April
The month of April- -famous for showers, taxes, fools and something else. Poetry! Inaugurated by the Academy of American Poets in 1996, National Poetry Month may be the largest literary event in the world. Celebrations and special events are taking place all over the...
The Very First Post
My name is Susan Matley and I’m a writer. If there’s a twelve-step program to cure this condition, I don’t want to hear about it. Why? Because I love being a writer. Sure, sometimes writing makes me antisocial. Sometimes I even wake up with a headache after a long,...