When I was 18 years old, I signed up for my first college creative writing class, The Short Story. My experience turned me against feedback-based writing programs forever.

There are four types of point of view in literature, and choosing the right one for your novel is one of the most important decisions you’ll make.

First, good news: You’re actually only picking from three, because no one writes in Second Person, unless you’re looking to be very adventurous

Years ago, I was stuck writing and rewriting my draft, having been previously traumatized by a couple of fiction classes that left me bewildered and discouraged.

I felt I needed...someone. I wasn’t sure who. Like a friend, but a friend who was a good writer, and willing to meet with me regularly and talk through my book progress and writing struggles. I wanted someone to read my new pages and give me feedback but not edit them yet.

When I was 18 years old, I signed up for my first college creative writing class, The Short Story. My experience turned me against feedback-based writing programs forever.

Here’s a confession: until I became one, I didn’t know what a book writing coach does.

I had even hired one by that point. But because she didn’t refer to herself that way, I didn't know that “coaching” was what she was doing.

Unsure where to begin? Here, I share how to begin writing a book for the first time. You don’t have to know everything yet when you begin. The important thing is to begin.

It took me years to figure out what I’m sharing with you in this post, and I hope I can save you time and heartache. If you’re stuck on page three or two hundred of your book, or you’re simply unsure where to begin, here are four misconceptions that I see beginning writers make when they’re just starting out.

The story about the pots is an oft-cited anecdote from the book Art & Fear, and I decided to write about it today because it’s one of those parables that, as an writer, you absolutely must hear at least once. I probably think about it five or six times a week.