For once, this post is not about writing. It is not metaphorical, philosophical, or prescriptive. No, this post is just a story. A story about true love. The kind that lasts forever. It starts with a glance, ignites with a cautious touch. A furtive experimentation, followed by a gasp of excitement. “It fits!” Then, “Oh […]
New ideas are the sexy sirens of the writing world. At first blush, they’re so fresh and new and uncomplicated. They catch your glance while you’re hard at work, drawing your focus away from what you should be working on. And hey, who wouldn’t want to fantasize about going with the flow, just dropping it […]
One of the questions I get asked most often, by those who read my blog, is: “Veronica, why in the H do you hate Hemingway so much?” The answer to this question is as complex as my love of awkwardness. I hate him because I respect him. Also, because I feel like he probably never […]
We’ve all heard the stories. Legends, more like. About how J.K. Rowling wrote the entire first draft of Harry Potter on a napkin at her local Starbucks (or whatever place that sells what passes for coffee in the UK.) Or how E.L. James was just writing Twilight fan fiction one day…until bow-chick-a-bow-ow…international lust storm, followed […]
Dear Literary/Agency Interns, I feel it is my divine duty, as the self-appointed patron saint of interns (I’ve done twelve internships and counting, holla!) to pass on some of the things I’ve learned in my recent transition to the agent world: Don’t believe the hype. Whenever I attend a conference, I always have this moment where I feel […]
As the famously grouchy Ernest Hemingway once said, it’s very rare to find an intelligent, happy person. Of course, I’m paraphrasing. (Mostly because I suspect this will seriously piss off old Ernie, wherever he is. …Hell, probably.) My whole life, I’ve been fascinated by this happiness/knowledge connection. Is it better to see/feel/know too much, and […]
As I ranted about in a recent post, the world is full of complainers. Satirists. Commentators. Dissecters of trends. Dissenters. Critics. But sadly, fewer and fewer supporters. Champions. Crusaders. People who actually “put their money where their mouth is.” When it comes to politics, people complain about corrupt politicians, unfair laws, the state of the […]
Dear America, I don’t know your political affiliation, race, religion or gender, and frankly I don’t care. If you’re a human being and you live in this country, I’ll assume that you want (at least to some degree) the three things Americans are famous for wanting: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Living in […]
I always love when people quote some variation of the above statistic, because it never ceases to amuse me that anyone could EVER be more terrified of public speaking than they are of zombies, clowns, or the dark. But it’s a truth universally recognized—at least in America—that people are more afraid of giving a presentation in public than […]
In this business, the siren call of relatively vibrant plant life is a genuine and daily hazard. Ridiculous, you say. What does she mean, you ask? In laymen’s terms, we say “The Grass is always greener…on the other side of the fence.” Sounds simple, even silly. But in my opinion, it’s truly one of the […]
I know I’ve talked about this before, but this past year it’s kind of become a major theme in my life, so I’m going to write about it again. Here it is, children. What I’ve learned in 2015: You have to do what you have to do, when you have to do it–and not when […]
For people like me, waiting around for stuff is the worst kind of poison. Like dying slowly from an abdominal stab wound, only with slightly less pain. You lie awake and think, what more can I possibly do? When it finally happens, will it hurt? Where will I end up, when all this is over? And […]
Everyone thinks they have a story in them. Sometimes lots of stories. But writing a book isn’t something everyone does. Lots of books, even less so. To make a career out of writing, you can’t just operate on a whim. You need to tether your creativity, kill your darlings, and listen to the wisdom of […]
Oh, what a tangled web we weave…. Lying. The heart of any great writer’s skill. Or “persuasion,” if you want to paint a slightly sexier face on it. (But let’s be honest, that flawless contouring trick you learned on YouTube isn’t fooling anyone, Karen.) We learn when we’re young that lying is wrong, even as the ones […]
In good prose, there’s a rhythm. A cadence, if you will. Even a percussion. PACE YOURSELF. PACING SETS THE TONE, THEN CARRIES IT. Like the rat-a-tat-tat of a machine gun, action should happen fast and in short bursts. Exposition should be sparse and epic, like the report of a cannon, with quieter moments in between […]
***PSA: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** Attention, writers of the world: Please, for the love of all that is both holy and unholy. STOP. OUTSOURCING. YOUR ACTION. When you use supporting characters (or worse, extras) to advance too much of your plot, you water down the motives and dampen the effect. Like hiring a […]
As my editorial client list grows, no matter the genre of the work in question, I find myself repeating certain constructive criticisms. This leads me to believe that a lot of writers out there–myself included–tend to make the same mistakes, over and over. Particularly when it comes to the arena of characterization. For me, this […]
What do they always say, when you’re climbing high? “Don’t look down.” Why do they say it? Does it really matter? Does it make a difference where you’re looking, as long as you keep moving, keep climbing in the right direction? And what will happen if you ignore the warning, and look down? Will you […]
If you google the phrase “what to wear to a job interview,” you’ll get pages and pages of helpful links. If you click on the images tab, you’ll see that some helpful folks over on Pinterest have even put together entire boards (usually for women, since let’s be honest: guys don’t have quite as many […]
When I was in high school, I was one of the few lucky students to take part in an experimental “school within a school” program. Not unlike different major programs in college, my school district decided it might be a good idea to give 11-12th graders career-centric, college curriculum inspired experience in the field of […]
Welcome to the Dracian Legacy Blog Tour! On this stop, I ask debut REUTS author Priya Kanaparti all kinds of inappropriate questions, gush about Jensen Ackles…and we also talk about her book. Enjoy! Note: To follow all the stops on this tour, please click here. V: Tell me a little about yourself, (preferably something that […]
Dear Writer Friends, You may have noticed of late that my blog is slightly balding. This is not due to apathy, but is an unfortunate side-effect of my multi-career hubris and its accompanying workload. Also, I’m kind of missing the awesomeness and joy that was brought on by my last series, “When Writers Go Wrong.” Therefore, I […]
In my last article, titled “Be the Batman,” I talked about how important it is to bring swagger—and a little bit of superhero branding—to your prospective employee / career “persona.” Now, I’m going to tell you something you really, really don’t want to hear. Are you ready? There’s no way Clark Kent would have gotten […]
What is a “Career Persona,” and why do you need one? Why can’t you just be yourself, your whole self, and nothing but yourself? Because, to quote Sweet Brown from the popular YouTube video, “ain’t nobody got time for that!” As I’ve mentioned in previous posts (such as my most recent tribute to resume attractiveness, […]
For the final installment of my 2013-24 Pitch Wars “Meet the Bombshells” Series, I’d like to welcome to the blog Katie Bono, author of the New Adult contemporary (medical) novel, RUNNING WITH NEEDLES. V: First off, I’d just like to say how much I ADORE the title of this book. People in the industry love […]
VP Anderson 
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