Writing Bites

Yesterday Fancyhats objected to the name Writing Bites. Said it sounded like I was saying writing sucked. Well, I sort of am saying writing sucks. No one enjoys the act of writing. It feels like someone slowly poking you in the eyeballs with bamboo toothpicks. It’s difficult and slow and it’s never, ever over. Revision is always an option, even when your book is already in print.

I saw Lorrie Moore read in Berkeley and each book she signed, she drew a line through three sentences she’d rather someone had cut. I’ve never read my own novels in print. It’s just too painful. But someone did tell me once, after Swollen came out, “You really should change the title. I just can’t stand it.”

Everyone’s an editor…

So how does writing un-suck? Having a new sense of where that story could go. You can re-vision it, get that new story feeling back. You know that feeling. The one that lets you write the first 2500 words in a burst of glee and discovery?

With Writing Bites, I’ll give you that new story feeling. I’ll read your work, ask some questions and give you a fresh direction. Check ‘em out –  $35 for 10 pages plus a critique? DEAL OF THE CENTURY! Or something.