7 of my readers made the short list! — Weird thing about writers. Some aren’t as good as they think they are. They can be. With some work. But they’re not there yet. More swagger than skill. You know? Others? They’re crazy good and often don’t even know it. It’s like they have a gift from the heavens, but…

3 rules and 2 great resources — Pretend you’re a mommy, okay? Or a daddy, that’s fine. Your little darlin’ wakes up in the morning and your heart grows three sizes as you watch her rubbing sleep from her eyes. God, those eyelashes! She grins, or he does, and melts your heart with one smile. You do…

“Words are, of course, the most powerful drug…” — I love words. Sometimes, I want to crawl into them. I love the way they get under my skin and make me cry or cackle like a crazy woman. Let me tell you something stupid. I watched a demo of an AI program the other day. It was amazing, really. …

They are scraping content that’s behind the paywall — You’d think when content is behind the Medium paywall, it should be safe from scrapers and plagiarism, wouldn’t you? Apparently, no. I got an email from Andrei Tapalaga ✒️, creator of History of Yesterday, letting me know my content is being plagiarized. From behind the paywall. Not just on one…

Medium can’t defend your copyright. Only you can. Important info for anyone who writes on the internet. — Wow, you guys. I am stunned at the responses to my plagiarism post. Not the volume, thought that’s nuts, too. I’m stunned at how many writers think it’s Medium’s job to defend you if your content is stolen off Medium. Sorry. It’s not. This post is long. Sorry . If…

We’re not getting paid less. That’s just how it works. — Let’s play a game. Pretend I have 5 dollars to share among 4 friends. Easy. We each get a dollar. Right? Pretty simple. Oh, but wait. Plot twist. I’m not allowed to keep any of the money. Oops. The game is that I have to share my 5 bucks equally…

No, hurt people don’t hurt people. A-holes do — Yesterday I saw an article that stunned me. One writer called another writer “full of shit.” And used the writer’s name. In the title. Publicly. What that actual f — k? How is that even allowed? Almost 100 comments. Most of them saying personal attacks are not okay. Strike one… Among the…

Hope one of my readers wins again, like last fall! :) — I almost didn’t write about this. Because I swear, every time I write about a writing challenge, there’s a ton of “omg, it’s such a waste of time” grumbles in the comments. You know why I did? Because one of my readers won one of these. Not. Even. Kidding. When…

A publication for book lovers where there’s no rejection and no waiting to get published. Here’s how to join. — The Book Café is a publication where book lovers can write about books they read and enjoyed or loved or were inspired by. The difference is that all writers are editors. Which means I don’t need to review posts and accept or reject submissions. I don’t need to walk anyone…

Some tips so people actually read your story instead of leaving so fast they leave skid marks — Omg, you’re not serious. Please tell me you’re not serious. He said what? To his wife? Exactly what makes him think that’s okay? What’s wrong with him? How is this guy even married? Wow. That’s how you start a story. Grab the reader by the eyeballs. And don’t let go. …

If you want more views, fix up these common mistakes — Look, no one wants to publish to the sound of crickets. It sucks. Because honestly, if we didn’t want readers, we’d write in a journal. It’s easy to blame the “algorithm.” Easy to whine that traffic is down. Go look at Jessica’s posts. Umair’s posts. …

I got the reads. He got the cash. If I show you why, can we stop peeing in the pool now? — Imagine going to work every day and having no clue how you get paid. I mean, seriously. What the…? Who works without knowing how they get paid? Writers, apparently. I’m being sarcastic. But just a little. Because I suspect some writers truly don’t even KNOW how they get paid. I…

The secret of top writers isn’t “what” they write, but “how.” They’ve mastered the art of the start. — Three blind mice, three blind mice See how they run, see how they run Question — what topics do you think do best here? — Life and success tips? — How to make money? — Politics? Self growth? Nope. Sorry. It was a trick question. Because, see, that’s a problem…

4 rules from a Yale writing professor — He didn’t think many students would take his class. The college had even capped it at 15 students. And then, 170 students signed up. Before he became a Yale professor, Bill Zinsser had the kind of life many writers dream of. He didn’t just get paid to write, he got…

Write them on a sticky note and whack them when you see them — There are 5 words that weaken your writing. Whack them when you see them and increase the power of your prose. In random order… 1. Very / Really Very and really are often used for emphasis. Funny thing is, they’re so weak they do a poor job of emphasizing much of anything. …

(and published the changed version without telling you!) — What would you do if an editor changed your story, and then hit publish? Would you lose your mind? How the hell dare they? What gives them the right? Who do they think they are? Would you yell at the editor? Would you yank your story out of the publication? Would you…

Please stop. These aren’t helping, I promise you — This morning I got a notification that someone “mentioned” me in a post. Curious, I went to see. Honestly, the post was terrible. I hate to say that, but it was. The first draft is supposed to be the rambling brain dump. The finished version is supposed to make more sense. It…

Either that, or your human suit doesn’t fit. You pick. — Ever noticed that some behaviors are perfectly okay for one species but not even a little bit okay for another? Here’s what I mean. Ever seen a horse scream? Jeebus, they throw their head back and open their eyes until you can’t see anything but the whites of their eyes…

I already shoved one foot in my mouth. Here’s the other. — Yesterday I shoved my foot in my mouth. After sleeping on it, I decided the best course of action would be to shove the other foot in there, too. The glory of algorithms is that sometimes they put new writers in our faces. …

3 things you need to understand before you enter — “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” ~Oscar Wilde Have you ever earned $5K for a short story? I haven’t. But for 25 writers, that will be reality in Vocal Media’s fiction writing challenge. Whoosh. $5K in their bank account. Unless you…