You know the big, huge, terrifying amount of time, energy and love you pour into your writing? You know the dreams you wrap up in every word? It will all be for naught if you don't show up to protect it. I don't mean go out and buy a gun, or go out and get all ...

Look, the publishing industry is changing fast. Things are buzzy and kind of terrifying. There's always something to compare yourself to—a stellar success that is just enough like you to make you really jealous, or a flameout that is just close enough to home to make you wince. It might sound cliche, but the only way ...

There are two types of revisers: the reluctant and the thrilled. Maybe it's the former-school-newspaper-copyeditor in me, or the short drafter in me, but I love revision. At last! Drafting is done (ha) and I can make the damn thing a bit better, or at least I hope. But revision isn't as straightforward as it might ...

So, you've given yourself permission. You've made the space. Now it's time to draft. I will be frank: this is my least favorite part of writing. I feel like that makes me a freak (do you sense a theme here?) since writers are, you know, supposed to enjoy writing? And I do enjoy writing, but much ...

Last year, my book was a finalist for the Colorado Book Award. I was invited to a reading in downtown Denver. When I got there, I felt so overwhelmed and confused—surely, I thought, a mistake has been made. I'm not supposed to be here. These people are artists, and I'm...me. Art talk was thick and ...