About this item
Every writer knows that as rewarding as the creative process is, it can often be a bumpy road. Have hope and keep at it! Designed to kick-start creativity, this handsome handbook from the executive director of National Novel Writing Month gathers a wide range of insights and advice for writers at any stage of their career. From tips about how to finally start that story to helpful ideas about what to do when the words just aren't quite coming out right, Pep Talks for Writers provides motivation, encouragement, and helpful exercises for writers of all stripes.
About the Author
As a boy, I spent my allowance on all sorts of pens and paper, so there was never much question I would become a writer. I received my B.A. from Grinnell College in English and my M.A. in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University.
It seems like I should have other degrees, such as an MFA in Novels about People Doing Nothing But Walking Around, a PhD in Collages and Doodles and Stick Drawings of Fruitless Pursuits, or a Knighthood in Insomniac Studies, but I don't.
My essays on creativity have been published in The New York Times, Poets & Writers, Writer's Digest, and The Writer. My short stories have appeared in dozens of literary magazines, including Tin House, The Southwest Review, and Puerto del Sol. My stories have also been included in Best Small Fictions 2016 and in the upcoming Norton anthology New Microfiction.
My collection of one hundred 100-word stories, Fissures, came out in 2015 with Press 53, and Pep Talks for Writers: 52 Insights and Actions to Boost Your Creative Mojo was published by Chronicle Books in 2017.
I'm also the executive director of National Novel Writing Month, co-founder of the lit journal 100 Word Story, and co-founder of the Flash Fiction Collective.
Oh, and I've presented at such shindigs as the Frankfurt Book Fair, the Chicago Humanities Festival, the Associated Writing Programs Conference, Book Expo America, the Oakland Book Festival, the Bay Area Book Festival, the San Francisco Writers Conference, the Commonwealth Club, the Digital Publishing Innovation Summit, Writers Digest West, and LitQuake.
