Visual Thesaurus subscriber Julie Trelstad runs a company called Plain White Press that is re-imagining -- and re-inventing -- what it means to publish a book. Does a book's content need to nestle between two covers? Can you sidestep traditional publishers, do it yourself, and still make a splash at Barnes & Noble? We had a fascinating, enlightening conversation with Julie about this brave new book world:  Continue reading...

Visual Thesaurus subscriber Jayne Lytel, a nationally syndicated columnist and author of Act Early Against Autism, graciously sent us this terrific article. Thanks, Jayne!

Writers agonize over everything -- tone, style, word choice, structure, leads, endings, grammar, the long hours they work, don't work. One thing that's absolutely worth obsessing about is writing a tantalizing title for your book.

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I recently wrote a newsletter about grammar checkers and somehow let my brain turn off long enough to type "grammer." And while I proofed the newsletter carefully, I managed to miss checking the subject line, which was where the error resided. Talk about embarrassing.  Continue reading...

Last month we talked to novelist Laurel Dewey about her invaluable techniques for charting a novel, which got a huge response from Visual Thesaurus readers. Well, Laurel, we can't get enough of you! We called her again, this time to ask how she crafted such memorable dialogue in her novel Protector. Laurel graciously shared her writing secrets:  Continue reading...

As the science reporter for KQED Public Radio's Quest program in San Francisco, Amy Standen covers a wide beat: Science, environment, technology, and everything in between. We were curious to know how Amy tackles her diverse subjects -- nuclear power, indoor air quality, peregrine falcons nesting under the Bay Bridge -- and brings them to life, subjects that could sometimes be a tad, um, dry. Amy's approach to writing about science holds insights to writers of every stripe. Here's our conversation with her:  Continue reading...

I'm in the final stages of writing a book. My working title is: The WriteNow System: 8-1/2 steps to writing better, faster. The work's going well, although not quite as quickly as I'd like, which is kind of embarrassing for someone who bills herself as a writing speed expert.  Continue reading...

A few weeks ago we spoke to novelist Laurel Dewey about her approach to creating the lead character of her acclaimed suspense novel, Protector. That interview got us thinking about the bigger picture: How did Laurel develop her can't-put-it-down, page-turning story? We discovered that Laurel trained as a screenwriter -- and had applied techniques for writing for the silver screen to writing her novel. We asked Laurel to tell us about that, and she graciously shared this detailed -- and invaluable -- conversation with us:  Continue reading...