The First Draft Club

In this episode, I'm sharing six ways I've found to make my own writing more pleasurable—the actual habits that get me into the story faster and with less friction. Some are practical (like why I don't write sitting at...

For years I've said the reason I'm not an outliner is that once I've outlined a story, I feel like I've already written it—and it stops being fun. But a writer in the Book Incubator recently brought me a more specific...

I was talking recently with a writer in The Book Incubator who'd hit a very specific kind of revision fear, and that conversation (along with being mid-remodel and thinking about load-bearing walls) led to today's...

There's a scam going around publishing right now, and I couldn't stop thinking about it until I made an episode about it. A few months ago I got targeted. Then three different writers emailed me asking if an email...

This is Part 2 of Mary's conversation with Rufi Thorpe, where they finally try to take on the question everyone in this world pretends is already settled: can writing actually be taught? Mary and Rufi get into what they...

If you've ever wondered whether creative writing can actually be taught—or felt discouraged by a workshop, MFA program, or critique group—this conversation is for you. In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, Mary...

Mary Pauline Lowry is a crime writer and fellow Texan who just published her debut novel Last Night Was Killer. In this interview, we talk about what success actually looks like when you're a working writer. In this...

I used to hold two competing ideas in my head. I believed "people don't change"—I sort of prided myself on this vaguely cynical outlook. But then I'd teach the definition of story, which is that a story is about someone...

This is the season finale of The First Draft Club—and we have huge news. The Book Incubator has a new in-house literary agent! Her name is Hannah Brattesani. She's worked at the Friedrich Agency and Folio Literary...

Stephanie Webb, our marketing director at The Book Incubator, just got a dream book deal with Simon & Schuster. But it didn't come easily—or quickly. In this episode, we talk about: • Why rejection is completely baked...

Of all the writing adages I tend to whine about, "show, don't tell" is probably at the top of the list—because it just isn't true. Good writing involves plenty of telling. The actual craft question is: When is it best...

Book ideas have their own timeline. They can be persistent, demanding, and impatient—like a kid begging to go to Dave & Buster's. If you sit on an idea too long, it might just leave and find another writer to...

<p>A new outlining tool for writers who hate outlining.</p> <p>Outlining a novel feels to me like writing a novel by spreadsheet. I'm not an outliner.</p> <p>But I also learned early on that pure pantsing doesn't work...

<p>If you've Googled "how to market my book," you've probably come across the same advice: show up on Instagram, film yourself, build a following, cultivate your author brand.</p> <p>Here's the thing: most of that...