Fulfilling genre expectations is more than fitting your art into a box. It’s about connecting with your readers and satisfying them.

In the tapestry of your memoir, the theme is the golden thread that runs through the whole. It imparts a lesson to readers and helps them make sense of your life’s journey. Themes are “the gifts that books give us, messages that keep us reading and that satisfy us long after the books end.”

Finding a theme is a little like watching a photo develop from film. It may be unclear or blurry at first, but if you ask yourself these questions, you’ll start seeing your theme come into focus.

Taking the confusion out of writing, punctuating, and formatting dialogue.

“Show, don’t tell” is advice that’s given to writers of all genres. But what does it mean? Is showing better than telling?

“Why hire an editor? If I have a friend who is a former English teacher, or if I can find free beta readers on social media, can’t I use these people instead of an editor?” This is a common question from authors, and it stems from a misunderstanding of what editors do and how they are trained to do it. Copyediting addresses more than grammar, and developmental editing is more than reader response.

Advice on starting a memoir

Challenging ChatGPT’s editorial judgment with the humorous poem, “Candidate for a Pullet Surprise.”