Michelle Caffrey's book, "Bring Jade Home," tells the true story of a dog lost in the wilderness of Yellowstone and the people who work together to find her....

Several years ago, I attended a writing workshop outside of Toronto. I don't remember where it was exactly, but the landscape was beautiful. It was a rural s...

Writers block is real. And it sucks. What makes it so widespread and difficult to overcome is that there are many different causes. You may simply be having ...

There are about 50,000 fiction books published in the U.S. each year. No, really. 50,000. That's 1000 books per state. Other sources say the number is much h...

"The minute I stop writing for a month or two months and am on a trip I feel absolutely animally happy. But when you are writing and get something the way yo...

Several years ago, I became fascinated by the rise in flash fiction. These are short-short stories generally in the 500-1000 word range. (By contrast, an ave...

So, you've written yourself a pretty good book. Even a great book, you dare say. It has a unique (but trendy) premise. You've spent months -- no, years -- de...

How much writing goes into a book? More than you think. A lot more. Back before I dared even think about writing a book, I'd read somewhere that for a 300-pa...

Doing an "On Writing" post on a quote from Stephen King is fitting, since he's lauded for his book On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft as much as he is for his...

Groups of friends are fleeting. Think about all the communities you've belonged to: your summer camp friends, your college band, your coworkers at that buffe...

Most people think of writer's block as a complete drought of ideas. For many writers, however, the block they experience isn't about having no ideas; it's ab...

I'm excited to introduce a regular feature to my blog: On Writing. There are a gazillion books and poems and essays about the art of writing. I'm pretty sure...

I'm honored to announce that my Young Adult novel CAMPER GIRL has been accepted for publication by Regal House Publishing. A HUGE thank you to Jaynie and the...

In November 2011, I started to tell a story. But the story actually began earlier than that, way back during the summer of 2000. I was in the village of Sara...

The Adirondack Park in northern New York state is a six-million acre preserve, the largest park in the lower 48 states. Though it features 10,000 lakes and c...

When writers first meet, a question they often ask one another is "Are you a planner or a pantser?" That is, do you outline and plan your story, or do you ju...

cairn kern (noun) 1. a mound of rough stones built as a memorial or landmark, typically on a hilltop or skyline. Early in her journey, Shannon discovers a se...

I took this photo several years ago during a time when CAMPER GIRL was in limbo. I'd become interested in photography and attended a photo workshop with Mark...