Each issue, I will discuss some aspect of writing or, at very least, a subject that peripherally pertains to it.
Writing is a career of paradoxes.
You can't sell a novel without an agent, but you can't get an agent, until you sell a novel. Your stories have to be original, yet they have to fall into an established pattern, or editors will not risk buying your work. Editors want you to write short, yet they want well-developed, unique characters. As most of my best work is dark, I'm particularly insecure when I write anything funny, which is why I called in the critique cavalry. Here are a few excerpts from the various e-mails I received.